The Journal of Amber Hawke
by The Autumn Witch
Summary: This is the journal of Amber Hawke and her partner Merrill immediately after the events in Dragon Age 2. It tells of their shared life in trying to escape the tragic events of their old lives and the beginnings of their new shared one together. In trying to find that humble "home" they both so desire they must once again fight for those who they have come to love.
1. Chapter 1

The Journal of Amber Hawke

It's been four days since we left Kirkwall for the Vimmark Mountains. Although I do not admit it aloud, they've been the dreariest days of my life, even more so than the time my family and I hurriedly left Lothering for Kirkwall all those years ago due to the oncoming blight.

After the final battle, when Meredith was finally defeated for good, we had just enough time to stop by our estate in Hightown to gather some provisions and grab all the gold we could carry before escaping with our very lives.

Although most of Kirkwall's Templars had sided with us in the final battle, due to their Knight Commander Meredith being under the influence of an anciently evil, lyrium imbued idol, they were honour bound to capture both me and my partner Merrill afterwards. We were Apostates and by Chantry law we had to be arrested even though we had just saved Kirkwall from certain destruction for yet the second time.

My dwarven manservant Bodan and his adopted son Sandal had already left by the time we arrived at our estate. He was an honourable dwarf as he only took what was owed to him but amazingly he had gathered all the gold I had in the merchant banks within the city walls and left it for me in the mansion hoping I would discover it when we stopped by on our way out of Kirkwall.

When we arrived at the estate my elven servant Orana was still there though, waiting for us just like any other day. Merrill and I quickly tried our best to explain to her the gravity situation but her limited exposure to such worldly events hindered her understanding. Eventually, Merrill gave Orana the key to her old place in the Kirkwall Alienage and I gave her fifty gold sovereigns as well. We then instructed her to begin her life there as a free woman and then, for good measure, we quickly gave her an impromptu speech on helping her to understand the best ways to make her new found gold last. If she was smart and had no problems with criminals, she could easily live there the rest of her life fairly comfortable with little need to work. I shall miss her company as she had a naturally sweet way of taking the most complicated issue and reducing it to its most basic elements.

Aveline, the famous Captain of the honourable Kirkwall guard, who also stood by us in the final battle, assured me that her guard husband Donnic would see that both my estranged brother Carver and my gruff uncle Gamlen would get a fair share in the estate on my departure as to keep it in the family. I found it bittersweet as just four years ago I had won back the estate from corrupt slavers who had illegally seized it from Gamlen to pay off his old debts. I shed more than a few tears as I walked out its magnificent front entrance for the last time.

Although our little, ragtag group had plenty of coin we were struggling so far out in the wilds as we had not come across one village or any occupied locations. Thankfully we had not come across any dark spawn either but we also hadn't come across much wild game to eat. We were surviving on dried goods and a few flagons of water and wine.

Luckily, Merrill was a Dalish elf and had a huge knowledge of flora and was able to find us some herbs and edible plants to go with our dried goods. We even managed a nice wild, onion soup the previous night. But our lack of supplies was not our most compelling issue.

In four days, not counting Merrill's usually light-hearted way of looking at the situation, we had barely managed to converse at all. Even Varric with all of his tall tales and Isabela with all of her double entendres and seafaring anecdotes couldn't lighten the overall gloom that had enveloped us all.

Had it only been four days ago when I was still considered the "Champion of Kirkwall"? Had it only been four days ago when Merrill and I were peacefully lying in our new, goose-feather bed, warmly snuggled under an exquisite, imported, white cotton, down filled duvet discussing how we were going grow a huge flower garden in the back courtyard? Had it only been four days ago when both Varric and Isabela had been properly trouncing a bunch of drunken guards in a tournament of Wicked Grace at the Hanged Man pub? Had it only been four days ago when Aveline had kissed her husband Donnic goodbye as he left for work thinking it was just another boring day's patrol of the Wounded Coast? Had it only been four days ago that my Mabari war hound "Tinks" happily accompanied me for her morning walk not knowing that in a few short hours she would give her life to protect mine from a cowardly hidden Templar?

In a certain way all of us had "ruled" Kirkwall in our own personal manner. Varric, besides being rather wealthy, knew everything that occurred within Kirkwall and with said information he wielded a power that even convinced the nobles to think twice before crossing him. Isabela with her raw innate, dripping sensuality could convince any man, or for that matter most women, into betraying their own mothers! When Aveline entered a room, a wave of moral decency and an overwhelming sense of integrity overcame those in her wake, so much to the fact that every magistrate in Kirkwall vied for her opinion on matters that meant the most for the betterment of Kirkwall and her citizens. Ironically, Merrill, a known blood mage, imbues the world around her with a sense of wonderment and innocence so potent that even the hardest of hearts quickly melt into hopeless submission just to have her undivided attention to the extent that she has never paid for a single meal at a pub or inn because the proprietors simply love to be near her. And although I disagree with it, Varric tells me that I convey such a sense of confidence and unwavering conviction that even my enemies prefer my company compared to their own ally's which might explain why even the corrupted Commander Meredith regularly desired my assistance and opinion.

Since it was getting late I suggested we make camp. Merrill and Varric were soon off wandering about looking for dry firewood. Isabela began to unpack some of our cooking equipment and Aveline volunteered to go scout around to make sure no nasty surprises were sneaking up on us. That left me with nothing to do so I decided to join Aveline and have a conversation with her that was years too late in coming. My stomach was already in knots before I even said a word.

She had only managed to go about fifty yards before I caught up with her.

"Hey, thought I would help with the scouting?" I gingerly asked.

Her nonexistent reply let me know that she was still very angry about the whole situation and to be honest she had every right to be mad at me.

Aveline and I are like two sides of the same coin. We both want what is best and we both often do what is best but my methods and hers do not often mesh that well. Not to mention that she was the Captain of the entire city guard and I was an Apostate wandering around Kirkwall with total disregard for most laws concerning Mages. But what most people forget now days is that it didn't start out that way, not by a long shot.

Many years ago when my family left Lothering because of the blight, we came upon her and her then husband Wesley fighting a small group of dark spawn. They were outnumbered and soon would have fallen. However, my brother Carver, my sister Bethany and I intervened and saved their lives.

To this day, I remember afterwards when her husband Wesley motioned that he was going to take both my sister and I into custody for being Apostates, mere seconds after we had just saved their lives. I was about to turn him into a pile of ash but Aveline stepped in and cooler heads prevailed.

Sadly, later that day, we saw both my sister and Wesley fall to the dark spawn. However as sad as it was, Aveline and I bonded in combat and only because of that did we make it out alive.

Once we arrived at the closed city gates of Kirkwall, Aveline stayed with us and eventually got past the closed city gates with us. For a brief time we lived like family and believe it or not, I developed a bit of a crush on her. But as life would have it, she soon became a city guard due to her military experience and for a year I went on to work for an Elven smuggler to repay her for the borrowed gold it took to get my family and Aveline into the closed city.

Once I had earned my freedom from the smuggler, Aveline came into my life again. Over the next few years, I helped her discredit a crooked guard Captain and eventually Aveline took his position as Captain. That's when the problems between us started.

Once she became Captain she felt she had to hold to a higher standard of ethics and our lives began to collide a bit. We remained close friends through it all but there were times when the friendship became very strained and she soon became resentful.

When I initially started dating Isabela (a known dangerous raider) and then got serious with Merrill (a known blood mage) I saw very little of Aveline as she did her best to distance herself from us. However, when it all came down to brass tacks, Aveline owed her life and success to me a few times over. Add that to the fact that I also wanted what was best for Kirkwall and it kept me in her good graces. Therefore, she still felt as if she owed me something.

However, even though she stayed by my side, asking her to back me, and by association the mages, against Meredith and her mighty Knights Templar, was probably too much for her to do in all clear conscience. And by result, now being so far from her new husband had become too cruel. I knew what I had to do.

"Aveline I need to talk to you, it's important."

"Hawke, I am really not in the mood right now."

"Aveline, I am serious, its important." I curtly replied.

Looking at me now with both annoyance and disinterest she answered, "Fine. What is it? Are Merrill's shoes hurting again or does Isabela have cramps? So tell me? What mind boggling news do you have for me now?"

Staring into her hurt, angry eyes it was all I could do to whisper, "I want you to leave."

Now a wash of real concern moved over her face and she spoke in her most serious tone, "What?"

Fighting back loads of tears and nearly trembling I continued, "Ave, I have asked too much of you this time. This life…what Merrill and I have to do now… it's not you. I know you're the most loyal person I have ever met but I can't ask this of you. No, that's not right, I shouldn't even think of asking you to do this. Kirkwall needs its Captain of the Guard. In a few weeks new Templars will arrive and Kirkwall needs your presence there. And maybe, just maybe you can tell them what really happened. Maybe you can help them see what we did was for Kirkwall. Cullen also really needs you. It's going to get so much worse there before it gets better."

Looking at me with her eyes of steel Aveline asked, "Are you saying you don't need me?"

"No, not at all. I would love to have you with us. The thought of it makes me extremely happy but duty calls and well…as much as having you here as an emotional crutch pleases me, Donnic has first rights on that now doesn't he?"

She nodded in affirmation.

"Plus, like I said, Kirkwall is going to fall without you. We have been through so much while defeating both Meredith and the Qunari. Don't let it all go to waste. Don't let them think that Merrill and I are criminals. Remind them what we fought for. Remind them why they chose you to be Captain of the Guard."

Again she nodded.

Taking a moment to gather myself I spoke. "I do have one question for you that has bothered me for years and as I might not ever get the chance to ask again do you mind?"

Looking at me with both comical reservation and honest curiosity she replied, "You have always spoke your mind freely even when I wished you wouldn't. I can't believe something has been bothering you for so long. What the hell is it?"

"Back when you still lived with us at Gamlen's old place in Lowtown, for a moment there I thought there was something between us. You knew I was interested in you, why didn't you act?"

Flushing a bit, she softly coughed and then answered. "I honestly did not expect you to remember that but if you must know it was two reasons. One, I wasn't over Wesley yet and well…I just don't like women that way. I did think about it but even if I was inclined that way, I want kids…my own kids not adopted ones. It wasn't you don't worry. Matter-a-fact if there was ever a woman who could convert me it was you."

"Well I guess that's good to know. We would have made a stellar team though!"

"What? And deprive myself of the satisfaction of getting to bail both you and Isabela out of prison for being caught completely "au natural" in the Viscount's private garden? No, I would never give that experience up sister!"

Quickly swallowing I managed to eek out "Fair point."

After talking a while longer we decided to continue Aveline's task of making sure we were safe in our current location. For the next hour or so we continued our conversation and came to the conclusion that she would leave for Kirkwall at day break. If she travelled quickly she could probably be home in three days. From there she would do her best to help Kirkwall get back on its feet. She would also speak to anyone that mattered to give them her account of what happened during the final battle. Lastly, she agreed that she would work with Cullen to make sure that those Mages and Templars alike who had survived would receive the best care possible.

We knew in our hearts that the odds of seeing each other again were pretty slim, so that night at the camp fire we reminisced and joked like we had when we were much younger and much happier.

I didn't sleep that night. To be honest, I am not sure anyone did. I stared at the eastern horizon trying to will it to stay darker just a while longer but mother nature knows no mercy and sooner than any of us were prepared for, the first orange beams of morning sun spilled out over the east and we rose to start the new day.

The only noise that could be heard was the birds in the trees and Aveline packing her bag. It was as sombre as an execution for we all knew that when Aveline left the great thing that was "us" would no longer be. The same us that for so many years accomplished one impossible feat after feat the other. The same us that had fought back countless evils that threatened the safety of Kirkwall. The same us that continually heard that our whole was greater than the sum of our parts. But more importantly, the same us that was there for each other in all those times of abject sorrow and of unbelievably, magnificent times of joy. We had all held each other in the dark times and we had all laughed until our sides hurt in the good times. Something magnificent was truly coming to an end and it was drilling a hole in our very souls and all we could do was let it happen.

Finally Aveline motioned that it was time for her to leave. We all took turns to privately share some thoughts with her.

Over the years Aveline and Isabela had come to really dislike each other but they had always respected each other secretly. Which was really amazing as Isabela usually didn't respect anything ever but herself. There was a running competition between the two of them concerning who was a "real captain" as Isabela had her own sea vessel and Aveline was a "captain" in the guard. I personally had separated them at least a dozen times when their debates had gone on a bit too long. So there was no surprise that Isabela was the last person to say good bye to Aveline. But when, after a brief bit of conversation, Isabela stepped back and officially saluted Aveline with genuine affection and Aveline did the same in return, it was too much to bear. Merrill fell into my arms silently sobbing and she stayed there until Aveline had walked completely out of sight.

We walked until dark and not a word was spoken until we set up camp that night. None of us ever spoke of that moment again.

The next two days went pretty much without incident. However, the day after was the beginning of our problems as we accidently attracted a group of dark spawn to the surface.

It started when Isabela insisted we explore a small cave we came across in the side of a small hill. The entrance was actually hidden by some brush but Isabela needed to answer the call of nature and went behind the brush for some privacy. When she didn't come out from behind the brush after about ten minutes Merrill went to investigate. Soon afterwards Merrill returned and told us that Isabela was gone and it appeared she had gone into the cave.

As much as I didn't want to waste any time exploring, we couldn't leave without Isabela so we all decided to enter the cave and search for our missing pirate captain. Luckily for us there was only one path to follow once we were inside. There was also some natural air vents through to the surface allowing us enough light to see by once our eyes had adjusted to the dark.

We were about thirty meters in when we heard Isabela screaming at the top of her lungs which of course set us all off in an offensive run in her direction. When we reached her she was surrounded by six Hurlocks and one Ogre.

We charged straight into the fray and Varric set lose a massive volley of arrows by the way of Bianca. Then both Merrill and I let lose a hellish torrent of magical fury that dispatched all of the Hurlocks almost instantly. They only thing left standing was the Ogre but as its attention was on all of us now it didn't see Isabela sneaking up from behind and by the time it did notice her its entrails were on the cavern floor.

A bit annoyed I said, "I thought you just had to pee?"

"Spare me please will ya? I was doing alright"

"Bullshit Isabela! You could have been killed. Why not just ask us to come in with you." I answered clearly annoyed.

"I don't need your damn permission."

"For crying out loud woman, I never said you did! But we all sort of like you and don't want you to end up as a midday snack for some pissed off Ogre. Not to mention without you our little party is severely lacking in fire power."

Kicking at the dirt a bit before replying she said, "So you admit you need me?"

At this time Varric jumped in , "Since when do you care what anyone else needs?"

"Since I met all of you." She said looking at her feet.

"Isabela, I think you are developing a heart despite yourself! I always knew you were a big softie deep down" Merrill excitedly chirped in.

Practically stamping the ground Isabela yelled so loud it echoed throughout the cavern, "I am NOT a softie!"

"Oh it's ok we won't tell anyone except for maybe Aveline if we see her again." Merrill cheerfully replied.

"ARRGGH!" Isabela screamed as we all chuckled at her frustration with Merrill.

After a few minutes of cleaning our weapons and sorting ourselves out Varric suggested we explore the cavern a bit further. Since the caves entrance was well hidden from the outside we figured we were pretty safe from any Templars form Kirkwall discovering us.

Varric also suggested that if we could find another way out to the surface it would provide us with a good opportunity to get further away from Kirkwall without being discovered. The only problem was of course the possibility of more dark spawn but as we were already in we figured it was worth a shot.

For safety's sake we took some time to don our best armour and prepare for subterranean battle. Soon afterwards we marched down into the depths in earnest. After about four hours down things started to look somewhat familiar but different at the same time.

Years ago and quite coincidentally the four of us here now went on an expedition into the deep roads with Varric's brother. It was that very trip that we discovered the lyrium idol that eventually made its way to Meredith and thusly she used it to construct the sword that eventually left her insane. And as everyone knows, her going insane is what led us to having to destroy her which is why we were on the run now. Yea..that type of irony sucks.

"Varric doesn't this remind you of the thaig we found with your brother?" I asked.

"Yes…very much so…but that place is miles and miles away. It can't be the same."

"Maybe it was made by the same type of Dwarves?" Merrill piped.

By this time well all had stopped as we were looking down upon a huge row of columns and platforms that were nearly identical to what we found near Kirkwall.

"It makes no bloody sense." Varric kept mumbling over and over.

"Wait a minute" I said then continued after a moment's thought, "Remember they say that Kirkwall was originally constructed by Dwarves?"

"Yea".

"But also remember it was founded by the Imperium in Ancient six-hundred or so. That was a very long time ago and it's never really been stated one way or the other that the Dwarves who constructed it were from Orzammar. What if there was a whole other kingdom of Dwarves that lived out here?"

Varric looked doubtful, "We would know about it in the Shaperate."

This time Isabela spoke up, "But only if they knew about them. Thedas is a huge place so it would make sense that others kingdoms could have existed and the only reason we don't know about then now is that they died off centuries ago. "

"Even us Dalish don't know much about The People more than a few centuries ago. Keeper Marethari sometimes spoke of hidden clans that were rumoured to exist but we had little proof of them. Why not Dwarves too?" Merrill added.

"That means there could be dozens of these thaigs left undiscovered" Varric said then continued, "but if there are then there could be more of those lyrium idols or even possibly whole treasure vaults filled with it."

All of us looked at each other with a sense of extreme seriousness because we knew if anymore of those lyrium idols existed they could be used in a similar manner as Meredith had used it.

After a few silent moments I spoke up, "Varric, we have to make sure there isn't one here. One of them nearly destroyed Kirkwall we can't take that chance with another."

"Yea I suppose you are right. We better take a look but let's all stay close, this place is already giving me the creeps."

So we decided to search the thaig in earnest but as we were still in the narrow cavern path we had to traverse about thirty more feet before the cave opened up wide to expose the whole of the ancient thaig. But as we walked the last thirty feet out path began to narrow much more than it appeared from out original vantage point. It narrowed to such an extent that we had to walk sideways the last ten feet or so. There had to be some optical illusion working because it did not seem this narrow further back

I was taking the point and was about to step into the main cavern holding the thaig but something shiny on the ground caught my eye. I motioned for everyone to stop so I could try to reach it. But because the path was so narrow I couldn't bend over enough to reach it. Luckily Merrill was the next in queue and as she was a lot thinner than me she was able to grab it.

The shiny object turned out to be a small silver jewel encrusted box about the size of a small apple. When Merrill handed it to me we both shared a quick glance of concern into each other's eyes. There was clearly blood magic surrounding the box and specifically the tiny pad lock keeping it closed.

We decided to move back into the cave where we had just been to open it instead of heading into the thaig. There was something shouting in my head not to go into the thaig and I had learned to listen to that voice in my head.

Once we had some room Isabela looked at the tiny box as well. I was afraid she was sizing the jewels up but at the last second she handed it back to be so fast I almost dropped it. She then went on to explain that there was a Ravainian symbol on the bottom of the box that roughly translated into "cursed bad luck".

Varric didn't have anything to say about it other than it made the hairs on his neck stand up straight.

So it was up to Merrill and myself to decide what to do with it. Merrill was pretty sure there was a spell set to go off if it was opened and I concurred. We both tried dispelling the magic but it didn't work most likely because the mage who had set it was more powerful than us. I am not trying to brag but there are very few mages in the world that are more powerful than Merril or myself and they, as far as we knew, were far from here. So we assumed it was a very powerful mage from the ancient past.

After further examination Merrill was now sure it was eleven magic which was even more confusing because this wasn't exactly the place where one would expect to see an elven mage. But we were no closer to deciding if we should open it or not.

Isabela, typically, suggested she could try picking the lock if we agreed to give her the box itself afterwards. It seemed our best bet so Merrill and I agreed.

After about thirty minutes of playing with the lock Isabela finally succeeded in unlocking the box. I had never seen her concentrate for so long so I asked why so much work? She told me that once she initially tried to unlock it she could tell the lock trap was set to go off unless it was successfully opened so she had to unlock it or possibly die. Although I didn't say so much, I was truly impressed with her skills.

Even though the box unlocked we didn't know what would happen once it was opened. So I ordered everyone to step back and gently opened the box. There was a poof of smoke but otherwise everything seemed ok.

Inside the box was velvet lined and it held a single scroll. I gently took the scroll out and pulled it open however it was in a language I couldn't read so I motioned for everyone else to take a look. Both Varric and Isabela had no idea what it was but when Merrill saw it her eyes opened wide in amazement.

"I don't believe it…" was all she could say at first.

"What is it?" I asked once she seemed to have settled down.

"It's an ancient elven dialect…I mean it's the oldest we know of. No one even knows how to pronounce it anymore. I only know of it because I was studying to be a Keeper."

"Can you understand it?"

"Aye, well I can try but it would be better if we could find a Keeper to help."

"Well love, I don't think we are going to find one down here so do your best."

Merrill sat down on the ground and pulled out some of her own blank scroll paper and began to translate. After about thirty minutes she was ready to reveal what she had been able to find out.

"Ok I can't be sure but this is the best I could come up with" she said as she handed me her translation.

As both Varric and Isabela wanted to know as well I read it aloud.

"We have tracked the humans to this cavern. We are not sure if this is the place they harvest the blood. The secretiveness and effort in which they utilized to hide this cavern must certainly mean it is of the utmost importance to them. We dare not reveal ourselves now that we have found the thaig. We will do our best to kill them all even if it takes the rest of our lives. If you are reading this journal it means we did not survive. Beware the blood giver, she is the only one that matters. Stop her and everything else will fall into place. May Elgar'nan give us strength!"

"What the hell is a "blood giver?" Isabela asked while looking at Merrill.

"I…I don't know. I would assume some sort of demon if it has to do with blood magic but I've never heard the term before."

"Varric?" I asked.

"Hell if I know. It's not a dwarf thing either. But for the record, I'm in no hurry to find."

"Well the thaig looks abandoned so we might as well take a look at it and you never know, there may be another idol," I replied and then continued, "We need to take a vote on this. Remember we are not out here to explore. We are running from a hoard of Templars that might very well come over the next hill. If we go in and can't find another way out we will have to exit the way we came in and by then the whole countryside might be swarming with Templars."

"There has to be another way out, this passage is way too narrow. There is no way the people here before used this as a main entrance. You can't swing a nug in here and not hit someone." Varric offered.

"Oooo! Do you find a nug Varric?" Merrill cheerfully asked.

"No Daisy, I was just using an expression."

"Darn…I want one for a pet but Hawke wouldn't let me have one in Kirkwall."

"Merrill! You know I didn't say that. I just said that if you got one I would not be able to stop Tinks from eating it if she was so inclined."

"Oh yea…I forgot."

"Good lord Merrill, you make me sound as if I am tyrant or something." I said half joking.

"Sorry, ma sa'lath. I didn't mean to."

"Ahem…if you two love birds are done can we please decide what we are going to do?" Isabela demanded.

We all talked for about half of an hour and decided to backtrack a ways into the cavern to about half way between the mouth of the cave and the thaig entrance . We needed to get some rest before traversing into the mysterious thaig.

Since there was only the four of us we decided that two of us at a time would sleep and two stand guard. Obviously Merrill and I took our shift together.

Once inside the tent, Merrill and I almost immediately fell into each other's arms. There was something in the air that worried us both and holding each other was one of the few things we could do to settle our nerves. There was something so intimate and special about holding Merrill. I don't know if it's because she is an elf or because I love her so absolutely much but when she is in my arms the rest of the world simply disappears. I wanted so much to make love to her but with Isabela on the other side on the thin canvas tent, just waiting for us to start making noises, I didn't dare. So we lied there happily snuggled in each other's arms until we fell peacefully asleep.

After what felt like just two hours or so of sleep, it was time for Merrill and I to take watch. I made it a point to make Varric blush when he went into the tent to sleep with Isabela. Isabela, not surprisingly, seemed overjoyed at Varric's school boy embarrassment and made it a point to unmercifully swoon over him at every opportunity. I think it was the only time I ever actually heard Varric being grumpy other than when Bartrand locked us in the other ancient thaig. Come to think of it, maybe Varric should just avoid the deep roads altogether?

The first hour of watch went by without incident but right around hour two we began to hear noises. It was really hard to make out as it seemed very distant but it sort of sounded like a large group of people yelling or cheering. It wasn't screaming in pain or anything but more like jeering. But it seemed to come and go so neither one of us could get a bearing on where it was actually coming from.

As time went on, it became more regular so we decided to wake Isabela and Varric. Once they were awake and listening with us, neither of them could get a sense of where it was coming from either. All we could rule out was it wasn't coming from where we had entered the cavern. It seemed to be generally focused in the direction of the thaig but as the sounds came and went it was nebulous at best.

"What the hell is that?" Isabela kept saying quietly to herself.

"It reminds me of the crowds cheering at some type of competition like jousting or some type of sporting event." Varric added.

"Yea, your right Varric. That would explain the ebb and flow of the cheering. But what type of ghastly event could be going on way the hell down here?" I replied.

"I wonder if they have wagering?" Isabela piped in with a bit too much enthusiasm for my taste.

We decided after a short debate to pack-up camp and investigate the thaig. We all knew it was coming so why not start now? If there were dark spawn down here in the thaig maybe whatever it was we were hearing would keep them mostly distracted long enough for us to sneak by.

We finally gathered the nerve to pass the threshold from our cavern into the main thaig. We were very uncomfortable as where we came out was on wide deep road with no cover. If there was dark spawn nearby it would certainly discover us. Luckily the place seemed deserted, not even a single Genlock or Hurlock to speak of. However, the noise we heard was definitely getting louder. As much as it was natural to run away from such a thunderous sound this deep down we forced ourselves to investigate.

After walking for an hour longer we noticed small buildings lit from the inside which meant of course we weren't alone. The buildings also seemed well taken care of and structurally stable. In one window we actually saw a potted plant! A potted plant this far down in the deep roads? This was one weird place.

We all looked at each other in disbelief in what we were seeing. We were in the deep roads and the air smelled of dark spawn but where we were standing it looked like a fairly modern Dwarven town. We followed the cheering.

Eventually we began to see some dark spawn but they we just standing around minding their own business and oddly they seemed "normal" for lack of a better word. Instead of snarling and drooling they were walking and talking with other, cleaning, sweeping and doing all sorts of other domestic business. However, we still hid in the shadows and kept out of their view as we didn't want to be discovered.

At one point we found ourselves in a small deserted building waiting for a few "tame" Hurlocks to pass and Varric finally said what we were all thinking.

"What the fuck is going on down here?"

Merrill spoke next, "Did you hear those two? They were talking about how they were going to paint their new house?"

"For the first time in my life I don't have a smart ass remark." Isabela quipped.

"Ok something is going on here. We know for a fact that dark spawn don't act this way. Something is clearly influencing them. Magic maybe?" I asked.

"I've never seen magic do this. I know here are spells where you can control someone, but these guys are not up to anything nefarious. They are acting like normal people. It's just too bizarre." Merrill answered.

We talked for a moment longer and decided we had to see what all the cheering was about as it was getting much louder the further we went down into the thaig.

After about another thirty minutes of sneaking by dark spawn we eventually came to the source of the noise. Luckily for us we approached it from the side of the cavern wall and no one was there to see us.

It was a huge depression into the cave floor that created an enormous coliseum effect. There were thousands of dark spawn in the seating area calmly waiting for the next event apparently. They were also acting as normal as any crowd in Kirkwall would in such circumstances. We all just looked at each other and shrugged our shoulders in disbelief.

Suddenly there was a tremendous roar as a huge creature crawled out onto the coliseum's stone floor. To best describe it I would have to say it looked a cross between a varterral and a wyvern. It still had an insect like gate and joint structure but instead of a hard exoskeleton it looked reptilian but with hard, rock looking bumps all over. Its overall colour was read but with black splotches here and there. The rocky bumps were also black but excreted a yellowish slime. It looked to be about forty feet long and ten feet high off the ground at its back but its head rose much higher. It also made a deep guttural clicking sound as opposed to a roar. It was one of the nastiest things I had ever seen.

Next, from about twenty different entrances on the coliseum floor, a few dozen humans and elves came pouring out. They were dressed in rags and looked highly malnourished. Some of them had what looked like small sticks and a few had simple daggers. Gender wise they looked about seventy percent male and thirty percent women.

Almost instantly the group of humans and elves attacked the creature but to little avail. The creature was able to use four of its eight legs like huge swords and just ploughed through the mixed group. With each death the surrounding dark spawn went crazy with applauding adulation, although it was again a more controlled human like blood thirst not what one would expect from dark spawn.

After a while there was only about six attackers left and they seemed to be using magic and perhaps some type of illusionary arts. The creature approached these attackers with more trepidation as some of them were evidently hurting it. Suddenly one of the elves did something and one of the creature's legs exploding causing it to screech in pain. Immediately the attackers let loose everything they had but eventually, even missing one appendage, it slaughtered them all to the joyous rapture of the audience.

It was all we could do not to join the fight but we were outnumbered by thousands.

After the slaughter something very peculiar happened. Two stone golems began gathering the dead and took them to the middle of the arena. Once there they removed a section of the floor to reveal what looked like a drain. Then one by one the golems began squeezing the blood from the dead directing the blood into the drain. The crowd was cheering these actions as much as they did the actual fight.

Once they had taken care of all the dead, the golems left and several more, much smaller, similar creatures entered the arena and devoured all the dead bodies. They were obviously the offspring of the creature that had killed everyone.

At this point we decided to leave the coliseum area and find other safer place to hide. Once we did we all sat in silence trying to come to terms with what we had just witnessed. We had all seen plenty of death and honestly we had all done our share of dealing death but something about this really hit us hard. We felt guilty for not helping them but we also knew we would have easily perished if we had tried. We also were trying to get a handle on what the hell was going on. We needed to find out if they were using the drained blood in some type of blood magic ritual which meant we had to delve deeper into the enemy's lair and we were very much pilgrims in an unholy land.

Again we decided to put our actions to a vote. It was too much of me to ask any of them to investigate this with us, especially Isabela. She had stayed with me so far out of pure loyalty but asking her to do this was probably too much. She had her whole life in front of her and I didn't want to see it come to an end down here.

I approached her and was about to say something when she cut me off, "I know what you are going to say but I've stayed with you this long might as well go double down."

"Sweetie, I don't want you to stay with us just because you feel obligated. And I know you would have left already if you wanted to but all I am saying is that we are about to get into something we might not be able to get out of alive. This is some real serious, evil business, even more dangerous than Meredith. At least with her she thought she was doing good but whatever is controlling these dark spawn is a whole new level of bad. It's so bad that I'm not sure I can defeat it. I talked to Merrill and she told me that this whole place is awash in thousands of years of blood magic."

Quickly gazing into my eyes for a moment before answering she went on, "After we get out of here let's have this conversation again. Maybe then it will be time to leave but as far as now I can't explain it…something…I don't know what… is compelling me to stay with you and this time it's not greed."

Not wanting to push her I just said "Fair enough hun."

We waited in silence until the event the arena was over with and things seemed to quiet down. Then we made our way back to the coliseum but unfortunately we did run into a few small packs of dark spawn but were able to quickly dispatch them and then hide the corpses.

At the coliseum we had to be extra careful as not only did we have no idea where were going but we had to not only look of for guards but those awful creatures as well. The last thing we wanted to do was run into a den of those nasty things! However, we did want to find any captive humans or elves as they might be able to tell us what was going on.

Luckily for us the inner workings of the arena was very dark so we found it easy to hide in the shadows sometimes just feet from passing dark spawn. Within about twenty minutes we came upon a truly awful odour which we attributed to human and elf waste so we knew we were near the captives.

A few more corridors away we came across a prison holding dozens of humans, elves and even a few dwarves. We observed them from the darkness at first to obtain their state of mind. The last thing we wanted was for them to start a commotion and bring the guards down on us.

They seemed to be mostly ok but so severely malnourished they looked just skin and bones. I found it amazing these people were able to fight at all not to mention that horrible creature. I had to collect before moving further because I found myself boiling with rage towards anyone who could treat anyone this way. Then I got really angry.

As more people were moving in the cells I noticed someone I actually knew. It was Athenril! The very elven smuggler who had paid the gold of my family, Aveline and myself to enter Kirkwall when we first arrived at the closed city gates. I never really liked her that much but I considered her a friend and she did help us all when no one else would.

I was literally seething with anger and stepped out into the light and called her name at the cell bars. She saw me and immediately ran to meet me.

"By the gods Amber I've never been happier to see anyone in my life!" she said with her normal smooth voice but she was clearly holding back tears.

"How the hell did you end up here?" I asked. By this time Varric, Isabela and Merrill were trying to unlock the cell doors.

"Stop! Before you open the doors I need to tell you something." Athenril whispered.

"What is it?"

"Half of the people in here are insane. If you let them all out they will alert the guards and unless you have an army out there waiting for you they will just recapture us."

"Well I just can't let you out they will go mad anyway and its unfair plus…" I was going to say more but she cut me off.

"Amber, listen to me. In this whole prison there are only about ten people that have any chance of living. The others are either diseased, full of gangrene or so insane they don't know who they are anymore. They are all going to die either at the hands of that monster or by whatever is affecting them. You need to help them by letting them die peacefully. Surely you have some sort of magic that can put them to sleep peacefully and forever."

A bit shocked I stepped back trying to digest what she had said. Athenril was technically a criminal but I never figured her as so cold blooded. Before I could say anything she continued.

"I know you think I am being horribly cold-hearted but I've known some of the people in here for years. I know they don't want to die like this. I also know you have helped plenty of people who were infected with the taint end their lives so I know you can do this."

"The problem is this. I know that if what you were saying was true I might do it but do you really know everyone in here? There must be five-hundred of them. How do I trust you in that you really know this? Maybe a mage healer could help some of the people who you think are beyond repair? I mean.. what you are asking of me could be cold blooded murder."

"Hawke, I trusted you once about seven years ago. I looked you in the eyes and took a leap of faith. I have been here now for about a year. With the few healers we have in here I have done my best to help with the suffering. I know everyone in here and I know what lies ahead for them. I need you to trust me now. Please…" tears welled in her eyes and she was unable to finish and I put it all together.

"Your husband is here isn't he?" I whispered.

She nodded.

I gently took her hands, "Would you like Merrill and I to look at him?"

"He is beyond help. He lost a leg to the Vangore…that big monster you and the infection is too far gone. He hasn't been able to even sit up in a week. I would have helped him die myself but they have really strict rules on if anyone kills anyone or helps anyone die a hundred others will die in punishment."

"That makes no bloody sense!" was all I could say.

"This whole place makes no sense." Athenril replied.

After consulting with the team we decided that Merrill would cast a very specific spell. Basically it would take the life energy from all those who were beyond helping and use their last dying energy to bolster the few who were still healthy enough to make use of it. It was a very complex spell and for so many people it was very taxing on Merrill's own health and mana. So I transferred as much of my mana to her that I could spare. Of course, we didn't tell anyone what we were doing, even Athenril, so that no one would panic if they overheard us.

Merrill's spell would take about forty-eight hours to work, so hopefully we would be long gone before the dark spawn figured out what was going on.

Once Merrill was done, I cast a spell that put most of the prisoners to sleep. Once they were snoozing we quietly opened Athenril's cell and let her out. Sadly, her husband passed away as we were working. So Athenril was pretty shaken-up when she was finally out of her cell.

We all did our best to console her but we all knew this type of pain took time to heal. For some reason, Isabela was particularly helpful with Athenril. The two of them had more in common than the other would openly admit. So I think the connectivity between the two of them was due to them seeing something of themselves in each other. Whatever it was, it warmed my heart to see Isabela acting in a somewhat maternal manner.

We decided to go deeper into the coliseum. It was paramount that we discovered what was happening with the blood the golems were collecting in the drain. We all knew that no matter what evil was at work here, the blood was somehow connected. Between the stench of ancient blood magic and the cryptic reference to the "blood giver" on the newly discovered scroll it didn't take a genius to work it out.

We quickly gathered a set of arms for Athenril, as she was going be with us for a while, then we headed further down into the coliseum.

Like the other passages it was pretty easy to hide within the shadows as we explored. We came across a few levels of basic storage spaces and more prison cells, thankfully the cells were empty. I couldn't help but notice that as the deeper we went the fewer dark spawn we saw. This was most unusual as normally in these types of places the deeper you went the nastier and more numerous of dark spawn one would encounter. This whole place seemed to be a contradiction of common knowledge.

I was about to suggest we go back up to the higher levels when I started to see different types of symbols on the doors and walls. Most of the semiotics concerning the dark spawn have revealed a standard primitive set of basic symbols that were mostly either understood or at least known.

These new ones that were appearing seemed not only more complex but they were artistically unnerving to observe. They reminded me a little bit of some the hexes I had seen when we explored a hidden Grey Warden prison on the outskirts of Kirkwall. The more I looked at them the more I felt something inside forcing me to avert my gaze.

We then paused for a moment so Merrill and I could study the new symbols. Merrill also had no idea of what their origins were. However, back when she was trying to repair her Eluvian, she came across some ancient Tevinter Imperium writings that were sort of similar.

It was all very intriguing as we might have accidently discovered a long lost form of magical symbology. If we weren't so worried for our lives we would have made some etchings to bring back with us.

With our newly discovered knowledge we knew we were getting close to some clues to what was going on. Therefore we went into super stealth mode.

We crept along the corridors until we finally heard voices. As we moved closer we could tell that they were speaking elven. All of us spoke at least rudimentary elven so we all could understand what they were saying. Out from a partially closed door we heard the following between two people.

_Male Voice - "I am sorry but we are working as fast as we can. Because of the new problems in Kirkwall it has been difficult to acquire new stock. Most of them aren't leaving the city centre these days and that damn Hawke woman destroyed most of our black market sources. _

_Female Voice - "I don't want excuses Lionis. I want blood. What we have left is hardly sustaining us now. If we lose control of the dark spawn it could get very nasty very quickly._

_Male Voice – "Yes Mistress I understand but what can I do? We dare not attack Kirkwall outright our numbers are too few."_

_Female Voice – "I don't care what you do but get us some blood or I will take yours and your men's! Understand?"_

_Male Voice – "Yes mistress, we will do our best!"_

_Female Voice – "You better or the next person I feed to Numari will be you!"_

The woman stomps away to somewhere out of our view.

I slowly walked towards the door that we heard the voices behind. I was tired of sneaking around and needed some answers. Specifically who the people talking were and who "Numari" is.

I gingerly peeked around into the room and was not all expecting what I saw. The man who had been talking was clearly a Tevinter mage and elven. I quickly decided to just kill him rather than risk him alerting others we were there. A few quick spells and he was easily dispatched without ever knowing what or who hit him.

As soon as he hit the floor the rest of the gang entered the room as well. It looked like any office you might see in a Mage Circle. There were books, spells and even modern furnishings about. They had clearly been here a long time.

For the most part all the writings were in the common language or Elven but nearly everything we found was fairly generic except for the fact it was all blood magic. Luckily for us, Isabela found a hidden compartment in the desk.

Within the hidden compartment we found an inventory, going back two hundred years, documenting all the people that had been either kidnapped or sold and then brought to this place. Just giving it a precursory glance it appeared to be tens-of-thousands of people. Suddenly I felt very sick to my stomach.

So blood magic is at work but just how are they using it to control so many dark spawn? There just isn't a spell that can do that. It's just too big in scope. So even with our newly gained information we were still missing a vital part of the puzzle. We had to keep looking.

We decided to try to track down the woman that we had heard talking. She seemed to have at least some authority by the context of their conversation. So we went deeper into the labyrinth of offices hoping to find her.

We didn't know if it was due to the hour of day or what but almost everywhere we looked was empty. What little resistance we did find were other Tevinter warriors or mages and easily disposed of at that. I was about to think this whole adventure might be easier than we had thought when all fucking hell broke loose.

The room suddenly erupted in one explosion after the next. Merrill and I both automatically cast a protective bubble around our whole party but between the heavy smoke and loss of light it was hard to tell what was going on.

I heard the clash of swords so I assumed both Isabela and Athenril had found someone worth attacking. Merrill and I, over the years, had developed an almost intuitive form of battling together. So out of practice, both of us combined our magic and filled the room with a huge mass of chain lighting. Anyone not in our little bubble of protective energy most likely just got knocked on their arses.

Immediately after the electrical attack, Merrill used a spell to vacate all the smoke from the room. The second I had clear view I pushed forth a massive wave of force that lifted every baddie in the room off the ground and then immediately back down crashing into the ground at a remarkable speed and force. The sounds of bones and armour crashing was nearly nauseating.

Before anyone left living was able to stand, Varric sent a wave of arrows directly at them and at such a close range everyone who had lived after my initial barrage was now dead except for one mage who was behind a wall of magical energy.

Merrill then encased the lone mage within stone from the neck down and I threw a paralyzing curse right after. By the time the mage's spell gave out she was surrounded by our whole party, weapons aimed and ready at the poor woman's head.

Once I was closer to her I could tell by the energy she was projecting that she was a powerful blood mage indeed. We probably only captured her so easily because she was outnumbered so badly.

I walked up to her and calmly asked, "So do you mind explaining what the hell is going on here in this little puss filled hell hole?"

Her answer was to immediately spit on me. However, before the phlegm had even touched me, the cracking of the back of my hand smacking her across the face echoed within the room. It was so sudden and loud both Merrill and Isabela jumped in surprise.

For some reason this place was really affecting me and I had no patience what-so-ever for whatever little game this mage bitch wanted to play. I looked at her sallow, deep sunken eyes and thin, wrinkled lips and immediately wanted her dead. My seething ager must have been evident because Merrill put her hand on my arm.

My head whipped around and looked at her but before I could say anything she looked into my eyes and said, "Ma sa'lath, please? She's not worth it."

Feeling slightly ashamed by my behaviour I walked away and let Varric and Athenril question her. Merrill made it a point to keep one of her hands in mine.

Eventually they were able to find out that there was a Tevinter operation going on here for the past two-hundred years. They had somehow found a way to tame the dark spawn and use them for their own bidding. The taming process had something to do with the blood they were taking but the mage we had captured didn't know how it worked as she wasn't high enough up in the food chain.

The underground city also served as a de facto safe house for Tevinter intelligence workers working in Ferelden as well as a main hub for extremely high-up Tevinter slave traders. This place was bad news wrapped in evil incarnate, if there ever was a place.

Even with our new found information we still had to find out how they were taming the dark spawn. If it was truly possible it could make the threat of blights obsolete. It could change the world for the better. This was just too important to not investigate further.

About twenty minutes later we found ourselves at our first major obstacle. A ten foot high, eight foot wide, solid iron door now stood in front of us. And to be perfectly honest, the iron part was the least of our worries. There was a magical barrier so strong guarding the door we momentarily thought we were defeated.

Both Merrill and I threw everything we knew at the seal and it didn't even budge. Merrill even tried blood magic, something she hadn't done in ages, to no avail. We were about to give up when Isabela suggesting something that left the rest of us a bit red faced.

"Did you try knocking?"

I went to say something but stopped in my tracks and looked at everyone else. We all then shared a small chuckle.

I motioned for everyone to step back and used the bottom portion of Malcolm's Honour, my mage's staff, to knock three times on the door.

After what felt like an eternity but in reality was only thirty seconds or so, the doors began to open inwardly with such a creaking it was hard not to cringe. Out of habit we all took cover on either side of the door opening just in case something deadly came flying out. Which in retrospect was a good idea as a particularly nasty Vangore came barrelling out.

Luckily for us, we were behind it as it charged out. By the time both Merrill and I were able to bring our staffs about to set off spells, Varric, Isabela and Athenril were already hacking at it.

Merrill let loose at barrage of spells that left the Vangore disoriented and confused. Next, as if it was a rehearsed ballet, I sent forth a torrent of both fire and ice from above and below that decimated the beast. And if that wasn't enough as soon as I was done, Merrill had already cast the next attack of both lighting and unseen elemental forces.

I was about to crush the creature within a cocoon of magical energy but Athenril leapt upon the beast and with all her might brought her sword down into the monster's brain. It took one step, then another and crashed down to its death as Athenril leapt off and landed perfectly on her feet.

As the dust settled, Athenril became aware of us all looking at her with mouths agape and as if on cue she quipped, "What? I never said I couldn't defend myself…I just prefer to pay others."

"Uh-huh.", was all I could come up with.

Before we could really gather ourselves further a dozen or so Tevinter warriors came pouring out of the newly opened doorway.

Even though we were outnumbered four-to-one, we were able to easily dispatch the newcomers with relative ease. Also, this battle revealed to us that although Athenril wasn't a hardcore warrior like Aveline, her skills with both small arms and the bow easily filled the empty slot Aveline had left. We all felt much better about our odds with her with us.

We quickly rummaged through the remains of the fallen soldiers and were able to find some coin and some sorely needed survival gear such as a flint box. Athenril was also able to find better weapons and a bit of armour.

We cautiously entered the new cavern path not really sure where we were going. We did not meet any new resistance which surprised us. Whoever had sent the Vangore and the Tevinter troops probably didn't suspect we would survive giving us a small window of time where we could move unencumbered.

Not wanting to waste such a boon, we double timed it down the path. Unfortunately the path split ahead and we had to decide which way to go. One thing we all quickly decided was that we would not split up as we were much stronger together.

We then decided to go right, down the larger of the two paths, as we assumed what we were looking for would be down a main path.

As we ran we did encounter more Tevinter troops and even some dark spawn hell bent on killing us but for the most part we ran right through them. It occurred to me then that this place had probably been operating for so long in total anonymity that it had never had to defend itself and was completely unprepared for a small scale attack.

With the above in mind, I needed to talk to Merrill and Varric as soon as possible. We were down here looking for the source of what was controlling the dark spawn but given the circumstances we might be able to take out the entire facility thus dealing a huge blow to the Tevinter Imperium.

We explored for about another hour before we came upon a noise that reminded us of some of the noises we used to hear in the Darktown section of Kirkwall. The noise was that of chains and steel moving at regular velocities. It was a very unnatural sound for being so deep down in the bowels of the planet.

We again took to hiding in the shadows as we needed to inspect what was going on without being found. Slowly working our way down we came to the room where the loud noise was emanating from.

Looking through the double doorway we observed three stone golems placing small barrels onto a metal platform. Then they would pull a chain and the platforms would rise up and eventually go out of sight.

Once the golems stopped pulling there would be a noise from above and the golems would this time pull on the chains in another direction and the platform would return but with empty barrels.

Looking closer at the barrels it was easy to tell that the liquid that was once in them was a red and thick. It didn't take a long jump of logic to guess what it was. I was suddenly very nauseated as was the rest of group.

We waited stealthy in place for a while longer as we wanted to see where the barrels were originating from. Luckily for us, within ten minutes, an ogre came along pushing a cart stocked full of closed barrels..

He then put them on the ground near the golems and happily walked away with his cart now full of empty barrels gathered from the golem room. I even believe he was whistling as he pushed it.

Without saying a word we knew we had to follow the ogre in the hopes he was going to get another load of full barrels. However, he went straight to yet another set of iron doors guarded by six other ogres.

I was pretty sure we could take half a dozen ogres but for now, I decided discretion was the better part of valour. That being said, it was now obvious , the answers to our endeavours were on the other side of those doors.

We backtracked all the way back to where the path had split continued the other direction. At this point we were still moving pretty much at will and came across very little resistance. That is until we quickly ran into two whole squads of Tevinter Battle Knights, apparently they were getting tired of our little foray into their secret, hidden lair.

This turned out to be the toughest battle we had dealt with so far. Varric, Athenril and Isabela did what they could but they were not infantry fighters and soon we were backed into a corner.

Rarely does it happen, but Merrill and I had to take a more, formal "in the trenches" stance to push back the knights. Varric was injured and the two rogues were quickly tiring so Merrill and I had to switch with them as the point of attack. We were holding our own for a bit but suddenly out of the corner of my eye I saw Merrill get hit by an arrow. This was when I stopped playing nice.

In a near panic I threw everything I had at the last standing thirteen knights. One spell after another but for the coup-de-grace I cast a spell that is almost always cast out of doors due to its sheer scope.

Pushing everything I was through Malcolm's Honour, a massive fire storm roared out and annihilated everything for fifty meters opposite our direction. The ferocity of the heat was so high I nearly brought the cave ceiling down upon us. And truth be told, if I had been at full power it probably would have killed us all.

Thank Mythal the spell destroyed all the knights as immediately afterwards I fell to my knees exhausted. Yet, for the record, I managed to crawl to Merrill before I passed out.

I was out for about ten minutes and woke up to Merrill wiping my forehead with a wet cloth. She smiled at me but I saw the worry on her face.

I slowly sat up and observed the situation. Varric, Athenril and Isabela looked pretty normal but Merrill had her arm wrapped in bandages with an arrow still in her shoulder. As I really hadn't been hurt, just really depleted of mana, I immediately stood up and ignored her pleas to stay down.

I then immediately cast several healing spells on Merrill and within seconds she was good as new.

Looking up at me she said, "Ma'arlat…"

Without hesitating I reply, "Ma'arlat…" I give her a quick kiss and continue "Why don't we find what we came for and get the hell out of here?"

"Yes please!" she answered putting her head on my chest.

We spent the next couple of hours keeping out of sight and getting a lay of the land so to speak. We hoped that we would be assumed dead again as my firestorm had caused so much damage in the tunnel.

There was also the possibility that since we had wiped out two squads of knights we might have hurt them so severely all they could now do was call for backup, which of course would be days away.

Still sneaking around we came to the end of the tunnel opposite of the tunnel where the Ogres were guarding the huge metal doors. Unlike the opposite, this place was completely unguarded for some reason.

These doors however were wooden and suffered from both wood rot and old age. Once we were closer, we did notice they were covered with many of the mysterious symbols we had seen earlier. Their presence gave us all a bad feeling this time however, really bad.

Despite the symbols and our uneasy moods, Isabela easily picked the lock within minutes and we were in. All things being equal, I still have nightmares to this day about the horrors that we saw within the chamber behind those very same symbols.

When we first entered we were attacked almost immediately by several high powered blood mages but by this time we knew their tactics and they were defeated with relative ease.

Once the smoke at settled what we looked upon could only be described as hellish. There were numerous tables and platforms all over the place. On these tables and a few small platforms were every sort of dark spawn imaginable. But these dark spawn were not threatening us, they were in fact all cruelly tied or chained down. Many of them were on the verge of death. Several had buckets underneath the edges of their tables catching the blood that ran out of their ravaged bodies. Since most were cut open or sawed to pieces, the buckets swelled with tainted blood .

There was even a huge ogre that been flayed open with its interior being held open with clamps and tie downs. Its heart was somehow amazingly still beating even though it was exposed to the elements.

Now that I was in the room completely, I noticed all of the dark spawn had containers underneath collecting any blood that would drip off the tables. Some of the creatures had hollow iron needles pushed deep within their bodies to siphon off even more blood.

I had killed a lot of dark spawn in my time and had many try to kill me. They are ravenous, vile creatures but as I stood there I nearly cried for them. The look of sorrow and pain imprinted on their faces was too much for any of us. I even remember Varric vomiting.

For the life of me and all the knowledge I had gathered over my years, I could not come up with a reason why even the Imperium would do this. It was simply monstrous.

I was about to set the place on fire to put all of the tortured creatures out of their misery when I heard a raspy voice not too far away. It was speaking common so I wanted to find who it was and perhaps ask it a question.

We looked for a while but could not find who or what was making the noise. I was about ready to give up when Isabela discovered a wooden chest underneath one of the tables.

It took four of us to pull it out due to the weight. By the distribution of the weight we were a bit nervous about opening it, afraid of the ghastly surprise that might await us. Eventually, I just kicked the lock off and opened the top.

The smell that came out of the chest was so horrible even I lost it.

Once I was able to focus again, I saw an adolescent Qunari girl, covered in sores, bugs and bruises within the chest. She was chained and tied in such a way that she could not shift her weight within the chest. In fact, the only way she had been able to say anything was that she had become so thin the gag that was in her mouth had slipped off. Merrill, seeing the poor girl, had to walk away due to her not being able to control herself from crying aloud.

I tried to bend over to take the girl out of the chest but she firmly whispered, "No…"

I was then about to ask why when she continued, "I have been in here for so long, if you move me the blood clots will kill me instantly." Her voice was becoming scratchy and more agonized as she spoke.

"What can we do?" was all I could say, barely.

"You need to know….the Numari….it's a demon….it makes the blood they use…to control the dark spawn..somehow the feed it blood…and after they take it back somehow ….." She stopped talking due to a coughing fit.

The poor Qunari girl began to speak again, this time her voice getting much softer, "The dark spawn drink the blood and it…it…it…tames the taint within them…"

She coughed raggedly then continued in a whisper, , "You must… destroy… the Numari….." and with that life left her frail, tortured body.

Looking down at her my eyes just would not stop welling with tears. Even with all they had done to her, she still had the will to help us. It was her Qunari honour no doubt, to do the right thing, even at the end. At that moment I understood a bit more why the Qunari mage that I helped escape Kirkwall years ago killed himself once I gave him the freedom to do so.

I could not help but stare at her frail body in the wooden chest. Her hair was the same strange shade of honey-ginger that mine is. She had never opened her eyes but I could imagine the life they once held. She was someone's little baby once. She hadn't even seen fourteen turns of the wheel. Which was horribly sad enough but looking at her the notion swelled within me, it could have been any of us.

After a few more minutes, I just shook my head and walked away as the whole chamber burned to the ground.

It took us a while to collect ourselves. Varric, Isabela and Athenril kept busy tending their weapons and armour. Merrill and I just sat together on a small rock, outcropping. I wanted to say something to everyone but I was too overwhelmed what I had just seen.

Eventually I stood, while holding Merrill's hand and simply said."We will not let her last words be in vain. We kill the Numari, now."

Every nodded and we marched to our date with half a dozen ogres.

How does one slay six grumpy ogres? Simple, you have them help you do it. By the time Merrill and I reached our vantage point we had devised an amazingly clever plan.

Merrill, despite her pixie like personality, is simply one of the most formidable, elven mages on the planet. She understood the energies of both magic and life so thoroughly she could trick a butterfly into becoming a caterpillar. Her mere, innocent presence often softened the hardest of hearts in not only Kirkwall but anywhere we went. So we decided to use her gift in this particular battle.

From our vantage point Merrill picked out the two ogres that seemed to be the ones in charge. Slowly but certainly she used magic to ply them with feelings of insecurity and fear; specifically of the other four ogres.

I then picked two of the others and cast a curse on them that would make them almost irrational with fear. We kept this up for an hour easy and we could tell the four we were affecting were getting pretty jittery.

Next, I had Varric shoot his biggest, most powerful arrow through the knee of one of the ogres Merrill was focused on.

As soon as the arrow hit it's target, the four that Merrill and I had cursed immediately killed the two other ogres almost out of reflex. They were so irrational at this point they just wanted to lash out at anything they could find.

Now, Varric and Athenril sent a huge barrage of arrows into the four remaining. It wasn't nearly enough to kill them but they knew they were hit alright.

As soon as the two archers had released their last arrows, Isabela threw at least half a dozen smoke grenades in their direction. Now the poor ogres were paranoid, hurt and mostly blind.

All that was left, was for Merrill and I to send over massive bolt of chain lighting that knocked all four of them onto their arses. Before they could stand, I drew up a massive wall of jagged ice that sliced threw them like silvery daggers through juicy squab.

Still not dead but confused, the poor ogres had no chance when Merrill used the very earth to swallow them up and suffocate them below.

I know one is not supposed to be happy at the death of something but between you and me, I couldn't help a lopsided smile at our ingenuity. They never had a chance.

Once the smoke cleared figuratively and literally, made sure the coast was clear and then headed to the giant doors.

I was hoping that there would be a way to open them from the outside using a device or lever or some other type of mechanical technology but on close inspection it really appeared that they had to be opened from the inside. However, knowing there was some horrific, powerful demon on the other side, I wasn't so keen on knocking this time. We were going to have to figure out how to get someone inside to come out.

Standing there looking at the doors with no idea on how to open them all I could do was look at Merrill, roll my eyes and softly mumble, "Well…poop!"

After a few minutes it hit me. Since Merrill's spells had pretty much destroyed any trace of the ogres, sooner or later someone is going to wonder where the hell they went to. So we all found a hiding spot behind some old wooden crates and waited.

I had nearly fallen to sleep waiting for someone to notice they were gone but eventually some Tevinter guards came along.

At first they just looked around as if nothing was wrong but eventually one of them starting yelling at the others, so I pegged him for the sergeant. After a bit more yelling one of the low levels ran off about as fast as his legs would carry him. We figured he was taking a message to someone.

Not very long later the messenger returned with what looked like even a higher ranked guard, a lieutenant perhaps. He barked out some more orders and they all sort of scattered searching for something. We were lucky as were just far enough away to be out of their search perimeter.

I watched the new officer intently. I could tell by the confidence in his gait and how the others reacted to him that he was someone formidable to deal with.

He bent over and started examining the tracks on the ground. Eventually frustration overtook his face as he was obviously at a loss for the sudden disappearance of the ogres. But I could tell he knew something wasn't right.

I motioned for Varric and Athenril to prepare their bolts and arrows.

The elder guard now barked more orders out at the whole lot of guards and they all stood in formation. After a few more orders the Lieutenant looked over in our direction and for a moment I thought we were had but instead he turned his back to us and banged on the iron doors five times.

Almost immediately the right hand door open inwards just enough for two people to walk out of the chamber behind it. It was easy to tell they were blood mages but these mages were major league.

As compared to the blood mages in chamber we had just come from, these guys were well dressed, well equipped and surprisingly healthy looking. Their staffs alone probably cost more than fives years wages of most people in Kirkwall. These guys were going to be tough.

When they both came completely out of the chamber and inspected the ground with the Lieutenant, I knew that was our chance. I signalled the archers and the rest of us charged.

The guards provided no real challenge except for the damn Lieutenant who fought very similarly to Aveline. But due to the blood mages, I had to trust the other three would handle him as Merrill and I had our hands full with the mages.

The battle was longer than I preferred but eventually the blood mages fell but not before doing their worst so to speak. Both Merrill and I were pretty beaten up nevertheless we walked away from the battle heads held high which is always a good thing.

Isabela, on the other hand, slipped during one of her attacks and twisted her left knee. Even with some healing from both of us, she still favoured it when she walked. I knew then we really needed to wrap-up this little adventure up as it was wearing on all of us. So we immediately hid the bodies and entered the new cavern. We pushed the door closed behind us so it would appear all was well.

Surprisingly we had no resistance at all and we reached the next set of doors fairly quickly. They were locked but we had found a set of keys on the body of one of the blood mages we had just defeated, which just happened to unlocked the doors.

Again, as soon as we entered the chamber we were attacked by more blood mages but these guys were not in the league the last two were subsequently we barely worked up a sweat defeating them.

Once defeated we walked to the centre of the room where what looked like a cage was emanating a huge amount of blue light. Merrill and I both recognised it as magically engineered.

The cage had a round base constructed of stone and had a complimentary round top about twelve feet high. Between the base and the top, several thick, solid silver bars formed the body of the cage. The whole contraption had a circumference of about fifteen metres.

Within the cage suspended in midair was the largest desire demon I have ever seen. It was even bigger than the desire demon Allure that we defeated in an ancient crypt under Kirkwall. This one was taller by at least two feet. She was simply huge! The powers that were needed to hold her in this cage had to be staggering.

However, instead of the sultry, curvaceous body that most desire demons had, her skin clung to her like the skin on a dried grape. Protruding from her chest, neck and one thigh were tubes that ended in buckets on our side of the silver bars. Even more atrociously, a thicker tube went from the top of the cage down into her throat forcing her head back and denying her the ability to look down.

Seeing the thicker tube, I traced it with my eyes back up into the cavern roof. My gut told me the tube probably began somewhere near the drain in the arena floor. These Tevinters were beyond monstrous.

It was times like these that I understood why the Templars hated and feared us so much. I almost hated myself looking at that poor demon in her cage.

I spoke to Merrill as she was the demon expert, "I know you are going to think I'm mad but can we save her?"

I saw Varric start to say something but I motioned for him to keep quiet so Merrill could speak.

Looking at the demon intently, Merrill answered, "I think if we pulled out the draining tubes she might have a chance if there is any blood in the feeder tube to replenish her."

I looked at the rest of our group and then spoke. "I want you three to go back to the main doors and wait for us. If we aren't there in twenty minutes leave and get back to the surface."

Isabela softly replied, "Are you sure you want to do this? Remember the desire demon in the fade with Feynriel? She nearly had us."

"I know. But imagine if you discovered this on your own ship. Your own people were responsible. Could you just ignore it? Mages did all of these horrible, horrible things down here and I've got to fix it. I've got to make it right and hopefully if what I have planned works, then maybe I will be able to sleep tonight."

Still looking at me with a bit of concern she nodded in agreement and walked away.

Before Athenril left I spoke to her very quietly.

"Athenril can we speak for a moment?"

"Sure Hawke." She answered.

"First, you have known me long enough now, call me Amber. All my friends do."

She smiled broadly in understanding.

"Second, we won't be there in twenty minutes. Varric will wait at the surface for us but I want you to take Isabela to safety. Her leg needs real help, find a healer. She is not big on goodbyes so I know she would have it this way. And…I see how you two look at each other. I know your husband just passed but if you treat her with respect and are there for her…well it can be a really good thing and I am speaking from personal experience." I couldn't help but blush at the last part of what I said.

Again she nodded and spoke, "It's been a fun ride Haw… I mean Amber. I will take care of her I promise."

"One last thing. I have a cousin in Kirkwall. Her name is Charade Amell. Let her know I am ok but don't let her know where we are."

And with that I gave her a quick hug and the three of them left for the main doors.

Once they left Merrill and I walked over to the captured desire demon.

I looked at Merrill and said, "Do it."

Merrill then walked up to the cage and withdrew a dagger from her weapons belt. She then softly brought it across her opened, bare palm spilling blood into the cage. Afterwards, I walked as close to the cage that I dared and spoke.

"I know you can hear me and I know you don't trust me. I wouldn't trust me either after what they did to you. My name is Amber Hawke and I am not with the Tevinter Imperium. Both of us here are from Ferelden and believe it or not we want to release you. I want you do bring your wrath down upon these monsters that did this to you. If we release you from this cage you must give us your word you won't try to harm us and you must also give us safe passage to the surface."

After what seemed like forever, the demon spoke to us using telepathy, in that all too familiar tone they are famous for. "You ask a lot from me human especially since I know you have killed several of my kind including Allure."

"We can't debate this with you nor do we have time to prove it. But I know what they have been doing to demons and dark spawn down here and although I have no love for either, what the Imperium has been doing is worse and inexcusable. If you know we killed Allure and others like her, then you must know that we could have easily destroyed you here when we found you helpless. Even now, your powers are no match for the both of us but we want the same thing you do. We want these Tevinter monsters destroyed. We have already killed many ourselves."

The demon tried to move her head but was clearly in agonizing pain and could not. She was able to open her eyes, revealing the amazing plum irises they are famous for. "It is true we want the same thing. If I agree with you, you must know it can only be this one instance and if we ever cross paths again I will not be bound from harming you."

This time Merrill spoke, "That goes both ways demon. Don't underestimate us."

I could tell there was still some hesitancy in demon's mind. She really didn't trust us and probably thought we were tricking her or something even worse.

"How about this demon? In my pack I still carry Allure's staff, I believe she refers to it as "Crook". If you agree to our terms I will leave it here in this chamber for you to use once we are clear." I then retrieved the dead demon's staff to show her.

Looking at the staff, eyes glistening, she finally agreed to our terms.

Merrill explained that we would remove all the tubes from her that were allowing blood to leave her body. As we did, Merrill would heal the wound so the demon wouldn't bleed out. Then the both of us would remove enough of the silver bars to break the binding spell that they were collectively generating. Afterwards, as the demon gained more blood from above, she would become stronger and stronger until she could phase back to the fade or wreak havoc on the Tevinters.

The plan was risky on several fronts. We could be discovered, we could do something wrong or she could be lying to us and try to kill us the second we broke the binding spell.

So when we started to release her we were nervous and scared to say the least but things went well and before we knew it she was seconds away from regaining her freedom. I asked her one more time to make sure we understood each other and with her affirmation we broke the binding spell.

We figured we had a good few minutes or more before she actually acquired any power so we ran like hell destroying everything in our path. We really wanted this place to burn to ashes.

Eventually, we made it back up to the original level we had entered the cave from but along the way we heard sounds from behind so horrifying, I am unable to adequately describe them. And, as if she read our minds, the whole place was being engulfed in hellish fire. We barely made it back to the surface before flames came shooting out of the cave opening.

Merrill and I took in our first deep breaths of cool, fresh air in days when suddenly we heard a twig snap behind us. As we spun around ready to attack the person or thing coming from behind we heard Varric say, "She was as mad as wet hen when Athenril told her the news."

"We're fine, thanks for your concern Varric." I sarcastically replied.

Ignoring my snarky retort he continued, "Amber, I am serious. I think she was really hurt."

"Look, we both know she doesn't do well with goodbyes. She also thinks she still owes me for the helping her get the Tome of Koslun back."

"Why not just tell her that then?" He snapped.

Getting a bit annoyed at Varric's intrusion into my personal business, I answered, "Varric! You know damn well she hates goodbyes and so do I plus…plus…it might actually be a real goodbye..like a forever goodbye, you know? I didn't want to put either of us through that. And well… she needs people in her life or she gets depressed. So I wanted her and Athenril to bond. I wanted her to see there was someone else that she could lean on."

After a good pause I continued, "I love her Varric, not a romantic love but like she was my sister. I just didn't want to see that look in her eyes, ok? Happy now?"

Of course by now I was tearing up so Merrill came over and put her arm around my waist to console me.

After a few awkward seconds Varric replied, "Damn it Amber…I'm sorry. I should have known better but she was really hurt. Anytime I don't give you the benefit of the doubt I always regret it. I really should know better by now."

"Yes, yes you should." I said as warmly as I could.

Knowing we were back in danger of being caught by Templars, we decided to march on despite our exhaustion and it being really late at night. Along the way we caught Varric up on what had happened below. He took it better than I expected considering his dislike of demons in general.

About four hours later, the last few day's events caught up with us and we had to get some sleep. We setup a small campsite well hidden away from any animal paths or any geographical oddities that might put us in danger. With just the three of us now, we took up a lot less space so we didn't even feel the need to keep guard. And due to the warm weather, we nearly didn't need a tent either but I really needed some alone time with Merrill and by the way she was acting I could tell she felt the same.

When I finally laid down on our soft travel cushions it was all I could do to not immediately fall right to sleep. However, as I was trying to find a comfortable position, I became aware of Merrill trying to sneak under the covers with absolutely nothing on. This was her way of telling me she needed some attention.

She scooted next to me and between her natural body scent and her elven perfume a surge of warm energy came over me. I turned on my side and pulled her close to me. I loved feeling the curve of her delicate back.

I never stop being amazed by the fact, that as powerful as she is, both magically and physically, while her petite, elven body is in my arms, she seems as delicate as the first spring blossoms. In fact, I'll always remember the first time we made love I was afraid I would hurt her.

My lips went straight for the nape of her neck and I slowly kissed and nibbled my way up to her lips. Once there, we kissed so deeply it was as though we were trying to breathe each other in, as if we tried hard enough we might become one.

Her free hand found the back of my thigh and she pivoted her body in such a way that I found myself straddling her. While there, I removed what little clothing I still had on and let down my waist length hair in waves of honey coloured silk.

Although I was still taking a few hair pins out, her hands found my bare breasts sending a wave of passion surging through my whole body. It always amuses me as well, because even though I have fairly ample breasts, with her small hands on them they appear larger than they really are.

As I bent over to kiss her again, I gently fell into her arms and we made love until nearly the first light of dawn.

Afterwards, while falling asleep with her delicately perched in the little crook between my arm and body, I thanked Mythal for sending me to Kirkwall all those years ago.

Thankfully the next three days went without incident and we made good time. I talked to Merrill and we finally decided we would head for the valleys close to the Planasene Forest. There between the mountain valleys and the forest we should be able to find somewhere semi-permanent to live. There were all sorts of uncharted settlements in those areas rumoured to have elves and even apostates. With a little luck we would fit right in.

It really bothered me that for many years we both would have to be careful where we went and who we talked to. No doubts the powers that be would try to find us. Hopefully, once enough time had gone by maybe they would come to discover the truth. That being said, I was sick of politics and had no intention of ever getting so involved again.

All Merrill and I wanted was a place to live peacefully. We had talked many times of having our own hand-fasting ceremony but we were both afraid that any witnesses might accidently give away our location. I mean really, how many amber-haired, human women and pixie-like Dalish elf couples do you come across? We must stand out like a sore thumb.

Our best bet now was to keep moving unseen. Without Aveline and Isabela we certainly didn't stand out as much now as a group. A lump came to throat as I tried to come up with the best time to let Varric go. I owe him so much and will miss him terribly as would Merrill.

It was a very warm day so we were particularly happy to come across a small stream. Both Merrill and I almost immediately jumped into the clear mountain water to cool and wash off. Although we did warn Varric if he even so much as peeked at us he would instantly transform in a frog. I am not sure if he believed us or not but we never caught him peeking.

Instead he went about thirty metres upstream and began fishing for our lunch. As I was drying off I watched him bring in two nice ones. I was very happy to see it was we had not had fresh food in a while.

Merrill insisted on cooking the bounty that Varric had caught. Though to be honest, as she was an elf she knew which of the local, fresh herbs that would best suit it. Thanks to her we had a very enjoyable, hot cooked meal for the first time in ages.

As we were cleaning up Varric casually mentioned that we were being watched. I wanted to reach for my staff be he quietly explained that whoever was watching us was not a threat but more a curiosity.

I explained the situation to Merrill and we very nonchalantly donned our mage, battle robes just in case whatever was watching us decided we were trouble. However, thirty minutes went by and nothing happened.

After talking to Varric we decided to head upstream as it was generally the direction we wanted to go anyway. Hopefully, whatever was watching us would get bored and go away or come out of hiding.

Merrill and I both tried to get a fix on what was watching us but it was just far enough away that we couldn't. After walking around five more miles it was still with us and I was beginning to get nervous.

"Varric, we need to stop and check this thing out. It could be dangerous."

"Hmmm…I don't get the sense that it is. It seems to be acting more out of curiosity than anything else." He replied.

"What do you think it is?" Merrill asked.

"If I had to bet, I would say something young. It's not doing too good of a job at hiding itself. It acts more like it's scared of us and it's very afraid to show itself."

"Should we say anything? Or one of us double back to flank it?" I suggested.

"I think as long as we don't do anything threatening it might eventually, even if accidently, show itself."

Since it was just an hour or so from dusk we decided we might as well make camp. I was too uneasy about going any further without knowing what the hell it was anyway.

Dusk came and went and it still stayed hidden. So we all made a plan to go into our respective tents and keep a look out for it. Merrill made sure to leave a plate of food by the campfire as hopefully it would act as bait.

Sure enough a few hours after we entered out tents we finally saw it come out of the forest. As it approached I noticed it was humanoid so it wasn't some type of beast. When it got closer it became evident it was a nude, elven child.

The child went straight to the plate of food but with the skittishness as you might expect a wild deer to act. It used its hands to nimbly pick up the food piece by piece.

Now that it was closer to the fire I could tell it was female though only by the absence of a male appendage. It's dark hair was long, scraggily and full of bits of forest. This was a tricky situation as we dare not try to catch it but it clearly was some type of elven wild child. If I knew Merrill as well as I thought I did she was already scheming of a way to approach it.

I looked over at Merrill and she was casting a spell so I just stayed out of her way. Once I felt the spell snap I watched Merrill leave the tent and approach the child.

She had apparently either bound the child or somehow froze it in place. I could tell by its eyes that it was scared to death though.

Merrill slowly and softly began to speak Elven to it. I could tell she was trying be best to sooth it. As she got closer she stopped short of touching the child though and just looked it in the eyes and methodically tried to sooth its fear by singing it an elven lullaby.

After about ten minutes I could tell the poor thing had relaxed a bit but was still scared. Merrill then went and packed a small pouch full of food and put it in the child's hand. After that Merrill returned to the tent and broke the spell.

I expected the poor child to run as fast as her legs would carry her and in all honesty she did leave rather quickly but not in the frantic race I expected. It was more of a cautious scamper.

Merrill and I exited the tent to meet Varric.

"So who do you think she is?" I asked.

"Well an elven child of course."

"We kind of already gathered that Daisy." Varric replied.

"I think what Varric means is where do you think she came from and what is she doing way the hell out here?" I quickly said.

"Well her mother or parents must have lost her out here somehow. But there is something else." Merrill answered.

"What?" I asked.

"She has magic."

I thought for a moment and then spoke, "Do you think it's possible her mother was an apostate and she came out here to hide from the Templars and maybe the mother died or something when the girl was really young."

"Aye, or perhaps her parents abandoned her out when they discovered she had magic." Merrill suggested.

Merrill's suggestion made me ill but I knew it was just as likely as my suggestion especially if her parents were city elves.

"Well whatever it is we can't leave her out here like this. She has survived so far but its only a matter of time before an animal gets her or worse yet a rogue group of men find her." I quipped.

Surprisingly Varric strongly agreed.

Merrill told us that she felt the child knew a few spells already as otherwise there was no way she could have survived this long on her own. By the looks of her hair we all agreed she had probably been here for at least three years maybe more. The fact that she didn't reply to Merrill in Elven or Common suggested it was on more than three years as she might not have ever learned to speak.

After a hour or so passed Varric announced that she was watching us again, which was helpful because I wasn't sure if we would be able to track her. If she grew up out here in the wild she for sure knew how to avoid people and animals but I had an idea how to draw out our mysterious watcher.

As soon as the last golden rays of sun completely faded into darkness and the moon took her position high in the night sky Merrill and I found a small clearing close to camp.

Once we were in the middle of the clearing we both drew up our magic and created a couple brightly coloured orbs of light that floated slightly above our hands. Slowly but surely we started moving the orbs between each hand.

Next I pretended to blow on my orbs and they gently moved through the air and joined Merrill's in the space between us. We concentrated even further and they moved up about six feet above our heads twirling around each other as they ascended.

A little more time passed by and we were able to create more orbs and they joined the ones we already created. We soon had about a dozen glittering, glowing, multi-coloured orbs dancing in the air.

The forest around us was soon covered in the ambient light of our little display. Shades of red, green, orange and purple flickered in the darkness of night. The orbs swerved and swayed around each other as if they were performing some hauntingly, beautiful ballet.

As we focused more brilliant orbs joined the already mesmerizing menagerie and they moved even higher in the sky. A brilliant shower of lights rained down upon us and from the corner of eye I could see Varric simply mystified by our little display.

Once we had the orbs at the desired height of about twenty metres in the air, Merrill let herself really go and the forest filled with the eerily, soft sounds of an unworldly melody that complimented the ballet above.

Not to be outdone, I let my soul find the music and the lights and as I let go they both intensified into a truly, remarkable display of beauty and magic.

Merrill and I then came together under the magical display and we found the rhythm and I took her into my arms. We danced and laughed under the stars to the magnificence that was magic. Our mutual love made the display that much more intense.

After quite a while of dancing and playing in the clearing under our creation we were ready for the performance's climax. We both pushed ourselves that much further and with one huge burst all the orbs exploded high into the sky leaving sparkles of dazzling lights trailing into the darkness of night.

I held Merrill as we watched the last of sparkles fade into the darkness but amazingly right when we were going to head back to the camp the little elven girl walked into the clearing. As she got closer I noticed she had about the biggest smile on her face that I had ever seen.

Needless to say the next few hours were dicey at best. The little girl was obviously intrigued with our little, magical display. I also believe she was most comfortable with Merrill as they were both mages, elves and dark haired. So the rest of the night Merrill did her best to make headway with the child, including letter her sleep in our tent.

Once morning came the elven girl was much more comfortable with us all. So Merrill and I took her into the stream to give her a proper bath and to especially clean her hair. Surprisingly, she wasn't as dirty as I would have thought and she seemed right at home in the water so we assumed she must have did this herself from time to time.

Believe it or not, Merrill found the girl one of her own old night shirts that Varric was able to sew into a rather pretty, child's dress. It was off-white with little pink flowers spotted all over. It didn't fit quite right nor did it really provide her with a lot of protection but compared to being "au naturel" it was fantastic!

My own addition for our sweet, little elf was sorting out her hair. Having hair as long as mine and sometimes having to go weeks without being able to wash or style it, I had all sorts of combs and pins to work with. I'm not exaggerating when I say it took me nearly two hours to get all the twigs and leaves out!

Once the forest was out of her hair, I was able to use some fine, perfumed oils to pull through it with my fingers. Next I spent a considerable amount of time combing all her hair out. Unfortunately, the split ends were so bad I had to cut off a few inches to not only get rid of them but to also even her hair out in general. I was so amazed as the whole time she sat right between my legs facing out. She never once moved unless I needed her to do so, except for the occasional giggle fit caused by Varric making faces at us.

Once we were finished I plaited it into two thick braids and pinned them together in the back so that they encircled themselves on each side and then I pinned them down tight to her head. With all of it back we could really see her face clearly for the first time.

She was quite a beautiful little girl. Her stunning emerald eyes were similarly shaped as Merrill's and about as wide set on her face relatively. However the rest of her face was naturally rounder and more compact than Merrill's. She looked almost half elf and half human but by the rest of her body we could tell she wasn't.

One thing that really stood out was that the more time we spent working with her the more it became obvious that she at one point in her life had been civilized.

Another thing that was positive, was that she was totally comfortable with Varric. As a matter-of-fact her and Varric played for hours chasing each other around the campsite. I don't know who made more noise her or him! This meant she was comfortable with other races and men. So we concluded she must have been born a city elf.

As much as we needed to pack up and leave, we needed this time to bond with the girl. I was really concerned with what would happen if we tried to leave. Would she want to go with us? Would she want to go back to the forest? Would she run away the second we start to pack up?

Then something happed that shocked us all. I was talking to Merrill and called her by name. Immediately afterwards, out of nowhere, we hear the little girl timidly say, "Mayrill?" as she pointed at Merrill.

Her speaking voice was one of the sweetest things I had ever heard.

Merrill took the little girl's hand and they sat down on a nice, soft patch of clover. She then pointed to herself and slowly spoke, "Merrill" as phonetically as she could manage. Then she pointed at the wee girl and opened her mouth as if she was going to say something.

Merrill repeated the process for a few times and then called me over. I joined them sitting on the soft clover patch. Then she pointed at me and slowly said my name a few times in the same phonetic manner as she did hers.

Then out of now where, the elven child gave us one peculiar look, timidly pointed at herself and softly said, "Fay-a-lynn" with an emphasis on the fay part.

Merrill thought for a moment and said, "Faealyn?" with a slight glottal, tongue roll in the middle.

The girl then giggled and bounced in delight and nodded her head at the both of us.

Stifling a laugh, Merrill then gleefully announced , "Her name is Faealyn. It's an archaic Elven word that means "child of the forest" believe it or not!"

We looked at each other while taking in the abject irony of her name. Once it hit us fully, we also giggled right along with Faealyn who was now looking at us like we had bananas coming out of our ears.

After a quick lunch, that we all sat down to and shared, we had to pack up and get moving. Faealyn curiously watched us as we did. We could tell the gears were moving in her little head. So we were very methodical and tried to act as happy and fun as possible. Every now and then I caught her tilting her head trying to figure out what the hell we were doing. Then it was time to go.

Poor Merrill was shaking because she was so nervous how the next few minutes would go. She went to Faealyn and pointed at all of us and then motioned with both hands in the direction we needed to go. The poor girl would then look at Merrill in what was clearly confusion and shrug her shoulders.

The three of us adults then slowly started walking upstream but Faealyn stayed were she was and the farther we moved away the sadder the poor thing looked. We tried motioning for her to follow us but she just got more confused and started crying. This of course set both me and Merrill into near crying jag ourselves. We just knew if we tried to force her she would panic. Finally after about a half hour of frustration Varric all of sudden announced he knew what to do.

He walked right up to Faealyn and offered his rugged, open hand to her. She gingerly but eagerly put her wee, little hand into his and they then unceremoniously marched right past us in the direction we were supposed to be going. The huge grin on his face was hard to miss.

Merrill and I looked at each other with a bit of amazement and embarrassment. Smiling at each other we then quick-stepped it to join Varric and our newly, found companion Faealyn.

All things being equal, the last day or so has turned out to be pretty damn good.

We marched on for two days and much of time was spent getting to know each other. Faealyn was either remembering words from her early youth or was especially smart because soon her Elven vocabulary had increased exponentially . She could now even form basic sentences and ask questions. For some reason though she had a hard time pronouncing Varric's name, instead it usually came out Barric. All things considered we weren't complaining.

On the third day we came to our first settlement. At first we were hesitant to enter but we were getting low on food and the odds of anyone knowing us way out here were pretty slim. Plus I think we all were crazing a hot cooked meal.

Luckily for us the village was rather small or I think Faealyn might have been more scared by the noise and volume of people than we were at being discovered! As it was she made sure to stand directly in the middle of us and was insistent that someone was either touching or holding her at all times. Her favourite spot was sitting on Varric's shoulders, which between you and me, he seemed to relish with joy.

The people in the village were friendly enough and mostly humans with a few elves here and there. We stopped by some of the local vendors and discovered the name of the village was Bonar, after the Starkhaven family that had founded it.

We also bought Faealyn a few sweets which by her reaction was akin to giving a dying man the ashes of Androste. I was going to have to talk to Varric about spoiling the child, not that he would listen.

We discovered that there was in fact an inn within the village called the Hogshead Inn. However, it only had two rooms to let but as there was only the four of us that didn't seem to be a real problem. So we headed in its overall direction.

Since the village was so small we had no problems finding the inn so we immediately went in to get a room and to perhaps have a meal if they were serving this early.

As luck would have it, both rooms were available so Varric paid for them both, no need to feel crowded after all. I had to stifle a laugh though because the innkeeper assumed that Varric and I were married and Merrill was the nanny for our child. I eventually had to turn away because I was beginning to laugh at Varric's hems and haws in trying to explain the situation without losing any of his manhood or simultaneously not insulting Merrill's and my relationship.

When he finally got it sorted, he grumbled to me, "Next time you're checking in."

We all sat down in the main room and ordered our meal. Because we didn't know if Faealyn would use a tableware or not, we ordered her duck and pork sausages with chips so she could just use her fingers. Varric had seasoned, pork steaks and herb mash. Merrill chose a plate of summer fruit, vegetables and smelly cheeses. I ordered slow roasted, rosemary pheasant with buttery mash and steamed vegetables. We shared a plate of candied nuts and honey covered brown bread slices for dessert. It was the best meal we had eaten since leaving Kirkwall.

After the meal, Merrill, Faealyn and I went up to our room but Varric decided to stay in the pub for a while to check for rumours or even maybe some hard intelligence, so we let him be.

Once in our room, after washing up, the three of us wasted little time crawling into bed. Even though we had got some sleep over the last few days, we were still very sore and exhausted. So sleeping on a real feather bed sounded like the best proposition in the world at the moment.

Luckily for us, the bigger of the two rooms had a rather large bed that all three of us easily could fit into. I started to wonder if this was Faealyn's first time in a real bed but either way she was all too happy to squeeze in-between Merrill and me on the bed.

When we were all finally settled in under the warm covers, I looked down at sweet Faealyn between us and over at the goddess that was Merrill looking back at me with her luscious green eyes and decided safety be damned we would have our hand fasting ceremony sooner than later.

The smell of savoury bacon wafting up from the kitchen was the next thing I remembered. Opening my eyes I saw both Merrill and Faealyn playing quietly with each other. Merrill was using one of her socks as a puppet and was doing something that was causing Faealyn to laugh to tears.

She would pretend it was Varric or some type of creature that would make all sorts of cute sounds and suddenly it would jump over and kiss Faealyn all over her face. Then of course she would just giggle in that way only little girls could.

A few rays of morning light was streaming in on them both and it truly magnified both of their stunning beauties. I had never seen Merrill being so maternal and it just made my heart burst with love and devotion. And by the look on Faealyn's perfect little face I knew our little family had grown to three.

Merrill then suddenly saw me watching them and her sock-puppet creature gleefully attacked me. So playing along, I squealed in laughter as well, which of course caused Faealyn to laugh more and soon all three of us were wrestling on the bed attacking each other.

As we played in bed well into the morning, I came to realize that sometimes when we dream of life and what it holds for us, there are moments that shine down into the farthest reaches of our souls. I never knew it could be like this. I never knew it could be this good or this joyful.

I knew all my adult life that the odds of me finding love much less being able to have children seemed too much to ask. Since I left Ferelden danger and peril were pretty much the only constant companions I knew and I pretty much accepted it without question.

I had always felt having someone I really, really loved and creators forbid, even children, would not only be too dangerous but too selfish. They would always be a target of my enemies and if something happened to them it would kill me emotionally. But as I shared in their joy, in the delicate morning light, I realized that what I had assumed wasn't the case at all. The fact was having them both made me even stronger. It gave me something to fight for, something to make the world better for and most importantly something that allowed me, to the very bottom reaches of my heart, to be truly happy for.

We ending up playing around for so long I began to worry that maybe Varric was waiting on us but as he wouldn't want to disturb us he might be getting anxious at this point. So begrudgingly we gathered ourselves and got out of bed.

Soon we were all dressed and prepared for the day's adventure. When Merrill starting packing our bags to leave I told her I'd go get Varric and see if he had heard anything and with a quick kiss to the both of them I left to go find him.

I crossed the hallway to the adjacent room and knocked on his door but no answer. So I assumed he was already downstairs and headed that way myself.

Once I reached the bottom of the stairs, I noticed a few people having breakfast but Varric wasn't in sight. Hoping that maybe the innkeeper knew where he was I went over and inquired with him.

"Yes! Your friend asked me to let you know that something important came up and he had to leave right away. He also left me this note and package to give to you."

I took them both and slightly opened the package to see inside. It was his portion of gold from what we had been able to retrieve from my house in Kirkwall on our harried way out of town. My stomach sank because I knew what the letter was.

I found the closest table, sat down and opened the parchment. It was sealed with his once lost family signet ring that I had found at a trinket dealer in Lowtown then later gave to him as a gift.

_Amber,_

_How does one say goodbye to friends like you and Daisy? I know this is probably not how you or Daisy would have wanted it but it was time. Please understand my time with you two have been some of the best years of my life but seeing you three last night at dinner I knew it was time for me to leave. Besides not wanting Faealyn to bond with me even more and then have leave later and hurt her more, I don't want to be a risk to your safety. We all knew that I would have to leave eventually but the longer I am with you the more I know. And we all know they are looking for you. Leaving now means I won't know where you go from there and thus even under torture I won't be able to give up your location. It's for the best and I hope you understand. _

_We all have been through so much. Aveline, Isabela, Fenris, Sebastian, Charade, Athenril and many more that are no longer with us. I remember the first day I saw you and your brother Carver stomping out of Hightown because my brother wouldn't hire you for the expedition into the Dark Roads. Then that slouch of a pick-pocket pinched your coin purse. Remember? _

_Wow, that seems like a million years ago doesn't it? Where has the time gone? We were both so young back then! Even dare I say naïve? Well as you know a lot has happened since then. So much no one will ever believe it when they read my stories! _

_I will never forget the times you literally had to step between Ave and Isabela to keep them from killing each other. Did I ever tell you all us guys secretly wanted the three of your to get into the biggest catfight ever? Maybe I should have kept that myself?_

_I'm going back to Kirkwall and it will seem empty now that you are not there. I will patch things up with Isabela and Aveline. I will also get word to Carver and your Uncle that you are ok._

_It's important that you know this next part. What happened with Meredith is always going to be misunderstood at best. I promise you I will do my best between my stories and my own word to make sure everyone knows the truth. It may take a while but promise it will happen so maybe one day you can return to Kirkwall the hero that you are. The world is about to become an ugly place and it will need heroes like you and Daisy._

_Until then, know that we all miss you two and are one day looking forward to seeing you three visit us as a family. _

_~V_

I read the letter three times not so much because I needed to but I needed the time to let it all soak in. Kirkwall was really over. Despite what his letter said, that part of my life was gone and the likelihood of me ever seeing any of them again was miniscule.

But what hit me even harder was the swelling reality that the three of us were really alone. Alone, in the middle of nowhere with just each other. What laid ahead for us? With just Merrill and myself now to protect us we were very vulnerable. And with Faealyn on top of that!

Although maybe there is no need for danger anymore? We have enough gold to last the rest of our lives if we are smart. Maybe it's time to settle down and let someone else be a hero? Only time will tell but I think the three of us have a great chance, after all, we have each other.

_SIX MONTHS LATER_

"Faealyn! What in the creators name did you do with my perfume?" I shouted to my newly found daughter who was most likely in her room plotting the demise of the universe or some other equally horrific notion.

The house was a complete mess, people are going to start arriving any minute, I wasn't anywhere near dressed and both Merrill and Faealyn found it highly amusing to take personal things from my vanity and claim them for themselves!

What the hell was I thinking having our hand-fasting in our own garden? Though if I remember correctly I think both Merrill and Faealyn teamed up and outvoted me. That's what I get for declaring our family a democracy. I now see why tyranny is so popular.

"Here mom." Faealyn said as she burst into Merrill's and my bedroom. "Sorry I used it yesterday."

"You used my perfume? You're bloody ten years old! What possible reason did you need perfume for?" I said giving her my halfway stern look.

"Well Misa uses perfume and she's only nine!" She replied totally ignoring my apparently useless stern look.

"What the hell does she use it for?" I said a bit too quickly.

Faealyn just looked at me with her big green, innocent eyes and blinked a few times.

"Sigh….What's his name?" I asked not really wanting to know if my ten year old daughter really was interested in boys already.

"Valen."

"And?"

"Well he likes me but Misa likes him and I don't really like him but I really hate Misa so I don't want Misa to like him because if she gets him he won't play with me at break time anymore." She somehow said in one continuous breath and sentence.

"So if he already likes you and you don't like him why do you need my perfume?" I asked thinking I was being entirely too clever.

"Cuz I really hate that Misa! She thinks she is so grownup just cuz her mother lets her wear perfume and sometimes even lip colour!"

My head was starting to hurt. I nearly blurted out that Misa's mum works in a brothel so her judgement was questionable at best but thought better of it, not ready for that conversation. "Did you ask your other mommy about this?"

Looking at me like I was dumb as a stump she answered, "Yes mother! She's the one who said I could use your perfume to get even with Misa."

My head was definitely hurting.

"Ok, let's get through today then you and your other mommy and me will sit down and talk this out. But in the mean time, don't use other people's stuff without asking first, ok?"

"I did ask!" She said referring to Merrill.

"Ok sweetie…we'll just talk about it later. Speaking of your other mommy is she dressed yet?"

"She's been dressed five or six times. She keeps changing her mind between the white dress and the blue dress."

"Go tell I her I'd like her to wear the white dress please?"

"Ok." And with that she gave me a kiss and scampered off to go bother Merrill for a while.

It's hard to believe just six months ago we found Faealyn in the woods living like some wild animal. It's also hard to imagine life without her anymore. She really has brought something special into Merrill's and my life and the occasional headache.

It's also really hard to believe that Merrill and I are actually having our hand-fasting ceremony today! We have been living together for years now but we want something official if just to hold in our hands to remind us that its real.

After Varric left we wandered the area for another month or so and ended up on farmstead on the outskirts of a very small village called Alva. It's a nice two story, stone cottage with a barn and fifty acres of land. We really don't need the land but it came with the farmstead so we took it. We are hoping when spring comes to plant a few acres if anything just to provide us with some food and to feed the chickens and horses.

We were also very lucky that since the village was so small, the local school had to teach all races otherwise there isn't enough kids to justify it being open. Even then there are only twenty students, most of them farm children but there is a few elven children from the elven vendors in the village. Faealyn fit right in and although she is behind in her studies compared to most of the kids, she holds her own. I figure by this time next year she will probably be caught up.

Three days a week we take her to a local Dalish elf encampment. There she is learning about magic and how to use it. Unlike her regular school studies, she is excelling in magic and is easily the top of age group in the clan. The Keeper has spoke to both Merrill and myself many times on how happy she is with her progress. I remember when I was ten and she is way past where I was at that age!

Once we purchased the house and got Faealyn setup in school, Merrill and I decided to have our hand-fasting. I think I would have preferred a spring ceremony but having it on the cusp of summer and autumn is still very pretty. The garden is beautiful and the trees are starting to change in colour. Besides I think if we waited any longer Merrill would have popped!

We both wish more than anything that our old friends from Kirkwall could be here to see us but sadly it's not to be.

Since we have been here we have made quite a few friends though. Many people from the village will be here and of course the Keeper is doing the actual ceremony. One friend in particular named Maeve we have really got close with.

She moved into the village about a month after we did. We were surprised to see a single woman this far out so we welcomed her with open arms. Apparently, something bad happened to her in Starkhaven that she hasn't shared with us yet. She wanted to get away from life in general and eventually found herself in Alva.

She told us she is a leather crafter, which she is indeed a good one, but I can tell from the way she talks she comes from money or at least nobility. There is a certain sadness about her so I don't push my luck with her by asking too many questions.

We have her up at least once a week for a hot meal and many times she will end up staying with is for a few days. She loves being around Faealyn and to be honest her accent reminds us so much of Sebastian we just love having her here. We have a guest room so she is never any trouble. She actually has taught Merrill and me a lot about the upkeep of horses which has also been a great help.

She has been a big help today as well. She is taking care of all the arrangements in the garden and keeping the few guests we have company so Merrill and I can focus on getting ready. She also helped me get my blasted hair sorted out.

I ended up wearing is mostly down in large, wavy curls but took three small braids and pinned them down in such a way that they gave the illusion I was wearing it up more than I actually was. Maeve also wove a few thin, pretty red and yellow ribbons throughout.

Instead of any type of veil, Merrill made me a small head-piece out of baby red roses and yellow blossoms. It was beautiful and reminded how jealous I was of Merrill's proficiently with that type of stuff.

I debated on the dress I would wear for a long time and finally settled on something simple. The bottom skirt part was pretty much just red, satin silk, but the strapless bodice gave the illusion of the fabric going horizontally in a few different folds and a silk bow on my left hip. It all accentuated my curviness very well and my boobs looked spectacular. Which I did especially for Merrill as she only hinted about it for three months straight!

I don't think I had ever worn anything so pretty and I have a seamstress down in the village to thank for it. She is a dear old lady and it was all I could do to get her to take payment for it.

I have no idea what Merrill is wearing except she couldn't make up her mind so she bought two. One yellow and one white. But I was so looking forward to finding out how it looked on her. Unlike myself, she asked the Dalish to create hers.

Now that I had my purloined perfume back I applied some behind my ears, on my wrists and just a wee bit right between of my breasts.

I nervously looked in the mirror. I was ready as I was going to be. If only mother could see me now.

And as if on cue, there was a soft knock on my door and I heard, "It's Maeve can I come in?"

"Sure its unlocked."

As she came in I stood up and flattened my dress out and looked at her. Her bright red hair looked especially nice today.

Looking at me she smiled from one ear to the other. She then gave me a small bouquet of red and yellow roses and softly said, "You're absolutely stunning!"

I blushed heavy at this as normally I wore some awful, beat up armour and my hair completely braided and pinned back. I wasn't used to people seeing me as attractive much less beautiful.

"Thank you?" Was all I could say as I took the bouquet.

"It's time to start." She paused for a second and looked at me again and continued, "Wait till you see Merrill!" And smiled again ear to ear.

And with that we headed to the garden and my last few minutes of being technically single would soon be used up.

Maeve and I then exited the house through the front entrance. Both Merrill and I would take places on opposite sides of the house as not to see each other until the Keeper started the ceremony.

Slowly Maeve guided me to stand right behind a white garden lattice. It was covered from top to bottoms with hundreds of flowering red and yellow roses in total full bloom. It was to my understanding that Merrill was on the opposite side of the garden behind a similar lattice. We were both now technically in the garden but neither of us could see each other or anything else in the garden for that matter.

I must have been breathing a bit fast because Maeve urged me to calm down or I would start to hyperventilate. Amazingly I had no idea that I had been doing it.

We then heard the Keeper begin to talk and hush came down upon the small crowd.

"Thank you all for coming today. As a special surprise to even to Merrill and Amber, Faealyn, is going to start off the festivities by singing a special song for her mothers called, "Thy Selfish Me." Once she is done, I will call the two brides to come forth and meet on the platform."

I nearly burst into tears right then and there. I had no idea what-so-ever that Faealyn was going sing for us. The last few weeks she had taken longer than usual with the Keeper with her magical studies and now I know what they were doing!

"Thy Selfish Me" is an Elven ballad about a warrior who unquestioningly performs several near impossible tasks, like tricking the Moon, for her potential lover. She unselfishly does these tasks just because her potential lover asks her to and she never gets anything in return. And each time she completes the task the warrior simply says, "This I do for you". But at the end of the ballad, when the warrior finally gets to kiss and make love to her new lover, who has finally been won over, she simply says, "This, I do for me."

Of course Faealyn sang the ballad in Elven and even those in the crowd who didn't understand Elven were moved to tears by the hauntingly beautiful way she preformed it. Her pre-adolescent voice, easily reaching high notes that even the very best human adult sopranos had no hope of, was pure, innocent and stunningly soulful. As she came to a finish I vowed to give her the biggest hug she had ever received in her whole life.

Now that Faealyn has finished the Keeper officially started the actual Elven hand-fasting ceremony or sometimes referred to as "The Joining".

Maeve motioned for me to move forward and I did. This was the first time I got to see how the garden was decorated and setup for the ceremony.

The first thing I noticed was that our lone Willow tree, located in the centre of the garden, had been strewn with red, yellow and white ribbons and decorations. There also must have been something shiny with the other decorations because the tree actually sparkled when I looked at it.

The Keeper was standing on a white, circular platform that was raised off the ground by about two feet. The space between the platform and ground was also decorated with more flowers and ribbons. On two opposite sides of the platform, there were handrails apparently for Merrill and I to use if needed.

On the actual platform itself, spaced out evenly from each other, around the circle, stood five small columns about four feet high. On top of each column there was a shallow, silver bowl that was filled with water. Floating on the water were several lit candles and flowering water plants. The main shafts of the columns were wrapped with more flowers and ribbons.

The Keeper stood in the middle of the platform. She was wearing a beautiful multi-shaded, green but conservative dress. She also held a small tome.

The small group of people who were attending sat on small benches positioned in a half-circle facing the platform with their backs currently facing us.

A saw Faealyn out of the corner of my eye wearing a cute, little blue dress. Merrill must have helped her with her hair because it was put back in a leather elven, hair band designed to show off her youthful face. She must have looked so special when she was singing. Just thinking about it put a lump in my throat.

The Keeper put both hands up and motioned us to come forward and that's when I first saw Merrill.

You often hear in life about these moments in peoples lives where they say things like "time stopped" or "their breath was taken away" but that hardly seem intense enough for what I felt when Merrill first came into view. It truly was an instant when there was simply nothing else or even any other sound to speak of. It was this explosion of my senses that overwhelmed my head as if it needed time to re-evaluate the situation because the reality of what I was experiencing was so intense.

I was later told by Maeve that the crowd gasped at us both in equal measure but I know better. I know compared to Merrill, I was a dull candle to her torrential flame.

Her dress was white but it must have been made with some magical, elven material because it was simply illuminating. It was as if it was a living being itself. As she walked its iridescence shone and moved as if it was dancing on her body. It wasn't a pure white but with hints of very soft hues of blues and sometimes a wee bit of green.

Above her waist the dress was impossibly tight and covered all her skin apart from the top of the bodice where her cute, small breasts seemed much more prominent than normal. Below her waist it was also very, very tight but right below the knees it flared out giving her plenty of room to walk. There was no doubt she was very fit because in that dress there was absolutely nowhere to hide any problem areas!

Her hair, longer than I remembered it, was completely twirled up on her head and a delicate, twisting, silver hairpiece kept it all in place.

With her hair up it emphasized her beautiful porcelain neck and face but especially her large, almond shaped eyes which were deeply liquid, impossibly shiny and wonderfully focused on me.

The instant she realized I was looking at her, a delicate, unreserved smiled formed on her blood red lips. It was quite obvious that we were equally enraptured with each other.

I must admit here that I have faced dragons, tangled with an ancient Tevinter magister, and even defeated probably one the most powerful Templar Commanders of all time but at this moment I was trembling like a innocent school girl.

The Keeper was going to perform the Elven "joining" ceremony. This is not the simple marriage ceremony that the humans do. This, what we were we about to do, was not only a lot more serious but even a little bit dangerous.

When the both of us finally reached the Keeper in the middle of the platform we were both nervous, it showed. It wasn't that we doubted our love for the other but in this ceremony you truly found out what the other honestly feels for you.

But right before the Keeper spoke, I looked at Merrill looking at me and we shared a small smile. I knew then it would be ok. I knew I loved her with all I was and I had never, not once in our relationship doubted her. Oh she was so beautiful standing across from me!

The Keeper waved her hand through the air and I could feel the magic come alive.

"Today we come together to witness the loving bond between Merrill and Amber. When this ceremony is over and if their love is true, forever will they belong to each other."

Looking at us she continued, "Please present yourself to each other."

With that Merrill and I took both of each other's opposite wrists with our opposite hands. So facing each other we held each other's upper arms crisscrossed in front of the Keeper. I still remember how proud I was when she took mine with no hesitation.

The Keeper next opened her small tome and spoke a few ancient and secret Elven words. Then, out of nowhere it seemed, a thick silver chain appeared in her hands. She then took the chain and wrapped in three times around our joined hands and wrists. As she wrapped it she starting incanting a spell. This is when the tricky part starts.

She explained two things were going to happen. First, the spell would go into our hearts and discover if our love for each other was indeed true. If it was, the chain would begin to glow white. If that occurred we would moved onto the second part.

She then waved her hand over our joined hands and then…well… both Merrill and I held our breaths waiting for the chain to start to glow.

Now I am not one to brag BUT the instant the Keeper waved her hand the entire chain illuminated almost instantly. Instinctively, both Merrill and I looked at her and by the look on the Keeper's face we knew even she was surprised how fast and bright it glowed.

"The couple have succeeded in passing the first part of the ceremony. Now we will go to the second. When I signal, you both will simultaneously say the following words to each other, "Ma emma lath, emma vhenan, ma sa'lath" (You are my love, my heart, my one love.)" Once you repeat it, the spell that binds you will enact. Everyone experiences it differently so be prepared. Are you ready?"

Starring into each others eyes we simultaneously said, "We are."

The Keeper smiled, looked at us both and said, "Now please, enact the spell."

At this point we held each other's hands even firmer and repeated, ""Ma emma lath, emma vhenan, ma sa'lath".

At first I was just a bit warm and tingly. Then a wave energy hit me right in the depths if my soul. It was warm and comfortable but intense. I then actually began to smell something. It was the scent of the earth after a summer rain, spring blooms, a mountain stream, fresh herbs, and strangely even the metallic smell of blood.

I was confused and then a bit dizzy. What was happening to me? And then it hit me with all the certainty in my soul. It was Merrill! No it was Merrill's very essence. It moved through me like a drug in waves of pleasure and giddiness. In my mind I was seeing faces and hearing voices of people I had never known. There was happiness, anger and sorrow but over everything there was Merrill. Her essence, her spirit, and her soul they were all in me now.

I looked up at Merrill, who seemed as moved as I was and then we both looked at the keeper.

The Keeper smiled at us and then spoke with a most joyful seriousness. "Magic is a magnificent thing and divine in nature but we don't always know how it works in all truthfulness. This particular ceremony utilizes a most powerful, ancient magic. When I said everyone experiences it differently I wasn't quite truthful. The truth is that the shared love of the couple is what powers and infuses the spell to its maximum potential. If you two were meant to be together for just a short time all you would have felt was a tingling. However, in your case something special happened. Your very souls gave themselves to the other. This means you are bound to each other for all eternity, in this life and the next. Your spirit is shared now, what happens to one will affect the other. Even in the most extreme circumstances. For example, if one of you shall die the other will as well. You are soul mates in the truest sense of the word. No force, person or magic can tear that asunder now. For all meaningful understanding now you are one soul living in two bodies. This is a gift from the divine more valuable than riches. You two are meant for something very special and the gods have smiled down upon you. Celebrate your love for it is truly a gift. "

We both nodded at the Keeper while trying to get our heads back together.

The Keeper now addressed the guests, "The ceremony is now complete. Thank you for celebrating this wonderful experience with this truly special couple. I believe there is food and drink waiting for us all inside."

And with that our hand fasting ceremony was over.

Later that night when we were getting into bed, I nearly screamed when I looked at my hands and wrists. There were silver tattoos all over them that had not been there before.

"Merrill!" I instantly yelled.

Running out of the closest, completely nude, she was looking with awe at her arms and hands as well.

I looked at her and said, "What is this?"

"I have no idea. But it sort of looks like Elven script." Thinking for another moment she said, "Oh! I think I know."

She came over and took my hands and arranged ours together like they had been in the ceremony earlier. She then looked at the combined tattoos on our arms and then beamed with joy.

"What is it?" I asked.

"When we put our arms together like this it forms the Elven symbol for "soul mate.""

Smiling at her standing there nude, I slyly replied, "I don't need a symbol to tell me something I already know.."

Nibbling on my ear she whispered, "Neither…do…I."

So the hand-fasting came and went and life soon returned to normal. But one thing I have come to accept in my life, is that normal is not something I get to experience for very long. So when Maeve came banging on our door in an absolute fright one crisp autumn morning I was hardly surprised.

I was in the kitchen trying to make bread, again, when she arrived. I was a bit happy to be honest because my success rate with bread was zero percent. Merrill said my hands were too warm and I kneaded the dough too long but I think there is some ancient secret that the whole world is purposely keeping from me.

When I opened the small view hatch in the door to see who it was before I completely opened the door, I noticed the grim look on her face. When she noticed me looking at her she almost started crying so I wasted no more time and opened the door immediately.

She has always seemed a bit sad but I had never seen her cry. Once she was in and the door closed behind us I was about to say something she stopped be and blurted out, "There are Templars in the village!"

As you can imagine at this point my heart nearly exploded in my chest out of panic but then it occurred to me that she had no idea who I and Merrill really were. Since we had moved to the village I used the name Amber Amell instead of Hawke. Besides helping in hiding our identity, the Amell family name was considered minor nobility thus I was able to use our family signet to purchase the land our house was on. Even out here in the middle of nowhere it was very rare for non-nobles to be able to hold title to that much land.

"Why do you care if Templars are here?" I asked trying to be as nonchalant as possible.

Maeve looked at me with a bit of frustration and then sadness. However a resigned look came over her face and replied, "I need to tell you something. It's very personal and there are a lot of people who would pay a lot of money to know this so I have to have your word you will not betray me."

I looked down into her brown eyes and simply answered, "Do you really have to ask?"

"Aye, you're right. I'm sorry it's just this whole things makes me so bloody mad."

At this point I suggested we go sit down by the fire and find Merrill as well. I was about to go look for her when she suddenly came around the corner in a bit of a rush and asked, "Did you need something?"

I was about to ask her how the hell she knew I was looking for her but then I remembered what the Keeper said about us being connected now. It was going to take some time to get used to this!

After bribing Faealyn with a plate full of biscuits and a mug of hot coco to go play in her room, the three of us sat down by the fire to talk.

Once we were all settled Maeve began.

"Please understand I am not proud of what I am about to tell you but it's something I can't change. There is a reason the Templars are here. They are looking for me."

Merrill and I exchanged a quick knowing glance with each other as to express the thought of if she only knew who she was talking to!

Maeve continued, "About six years ago I fell madly in love with a man. A man my family did not like but I went against their wishes and we were married anyway. My family, who is of considerable means, did everything they could to tear us apart but we were so in love we never even questioned our relationship."

"What did they have against your husband?" Merrill asked.

"Like I said above, my family is powerful. Since I was a wee girl they had plans for me to marry a wealthy land baron in Tantervale called Kirk McGyles or technically Baron Kirk McGyles. It was purely politically motivated and my opinion was of no matter to any of them. He is also fifty years older than me and one of cruellest men I've ever met."

Pausing for a moment to gather herself she continued, "No matter what I did my parents would not budge and as I was only sixteen when I discovered their plans I had no legal way to stop them. Then about six months before I was to be given to McGyles I met Duncan. We fell in love hard and fast." Smiling at us she continued, "And I'm sure you know how that feels."

We all chuckled a bit and then I asked, "So what happen next?"

"Although I was only sixteen, Duncan was of majority and could legally marry anyone he liked. So we went to the Chantry and got married behind my parents back. Technically the Chantry wasn't supposed to marry us without my parents consent but Duncan had a friend who married us anyway. "

"Oh! I bet your parents didn't like that!" Merrill happily exclaimed.

"Aye, you can bet your arse they didn't! They were bloody furious but it was legal and there was nothing they could do about it was there? So we went off and lived our own. My parents of course disowned me but Duncan was a metal worker and we did alright. Well pretty soon I was with child and our life seemed perfect. When the baby came it was a wee girl and she was just beautiful. We named her Katherine after his late mother. We really thought we were going have happily ever after like in the fairy books. But five years later we had a spot of trouble."

I could tell she was having a hard time now emotionally so I just encouraged her to take her time. Eventually she continued.

"We found out that Katherine had magic so we went into hiding. Unfortunately there had been some people in the Chantry who knew about it so they sent the Templars after us. We stayed hidden for about a year but we didn't know my parents knew about Katherine. And since they hated Duncan so much they lied and told the Templars that he was apostate as well. Well after that they got serious and finally found us."

She started to cry so Merrill and I both went to comfort her and eventually she was able to get herself together.

"Well to make a long story short, we loved that wee girl more than life itself. Between us both we killed five Templars before they were finally able to subdue us. But what I didn't find out till later was Baron McGyles had bribed one of the Templars and he murdered both Katherine and Duncan instead of taking them to the mage's tower.

For some sick, twisted reason the Baron still desired me but I again refused and ran away. After a year of running and hiding I found myself in Alva.

And of course while they had Duncan in custody before he was murdered they discovered he wasn't an apostate so now they think I am. So of course now they want me for both killing the damn Templars and being an apostate."

We found Maeve's story quite horrific and now that we had Faealyn it even hit closer to home. I have to admit, I had not concerned myself too much with Faealyn's magic ability and keeping her safe until now. Of course she knew to never reveal her magic to anyone except to the Dalish elves but with children their emotions often got the better of them. I made a mental note to talk to both her and Merrill about it in the near future.

Merrill wanted to tell Maeve our real identities but I thought it was a bad idea. Even though we liked Maeve, I wasn't sure how much we could trust her. Plus, being a wanted woman she could use the information to perhaps better her situation with the Templars. It was too risky for now. At this point, except for the Dalish elves, no one even knew we were even apostates much less our more infamous alter egos.

There was even a bigger problem than Maeve was aware of. The Templars could actually be looking for us. If they had our descriptions, I am sure half of the village could peg us especially now that we had the hand-fasting ceremony. Ironically, having a ten year old child might be our saving grace as everyone in Kirkwall knew Merrill and I were childless when we left.

There was even a third option, in that they might be in the village looking for your run of the mill apostate. So, like it or not we would have to investigate.

After talking to Maeve a while longer we were able to determine there were only two Templars. They were both men and both relatively young, so worst case scenario even if it got ugly, they would be easily dispatched.

Well as crappy as it seemed, we were going to have to go down and investigate. All things considered I felt that the most likely reason they were here was because of Maeve. To head things off before they got out of control, Merrill and I are going to have to go meet them head on. Looks like for the first time in six months we're going to have to suit up. I wouldn't want to be a Templar today!

It had seemed like a very long time since I had prepared for battle. Looking in the mirror as I was putting my armour on I noticed I had put on a few pounds in my six months of domesticity. I made a mental note to start doing more physical work around the place to help keep me fit.

I was about to slip on my boots when Merrill came flying into the room and said, "Oh ma sa'lath don't worry no matter what you look like I'll still love you!"

Nearly unable to speak due to embarrassment, I was about to ask her how the hell she knew I was thinking that when I remembered the Keeper again. Oh bloody hell this is going to be such a pain in the arse.

"Same here ma sa'lath, same here." I replied.

It was good to see Merrill all dressed up in her battle gear. Over the last six months she has been working with the same Dalish tailor who did her wedding dress and redesigned her armour. It was entirely black now with white and blue highlights. It had always looked good before but this was just amazing. She really looked like someone to contend with now. As usual, I was proud to call her my wife, that being said, she could have been wearing a, burlap sack and I'd still feel the same way.

After we were dressed we went to a secret compartment I had built into our closet. Merrill and I hid most of our magical gear in it just in case our house was ever broken into when we weren't there.

Merrill kept two staves at all times now. About six years ago I purchased one known as "The Final Thought" for her as a token of endearment. She also used the Torch of Falon'din from time-to-time.

Of course I have Malcolm's Honour and another one called Freedom's Promise though I used the latter primarily as a spare.

We also hid various magical jewellery, clothing and accessories in there as well. We once tried calculating the value of all of our magical equipment and stopped counting well into the thousands.

Just looking at all of it brought back so many memories of adventure and good times. Though when I realized some of it was actually older then Faealyn I felt old.

Quickly before she could say anything about how I was feeling, I looked at Merrill and said, "It's ok! Really! I don't feel old!"

Looking a little dejected she just said, "Harrumph!" and continued getting ready to leave.

When we went back into the main portion of the house Maeve nearly fell over where she stood when she saw us in our full armament.

"I…I… had no idea you two were…" was all Maeve could spit out.

"It's ok hun. We are going to ride into the village and see what the Templars are doing here. If you don't mind please stay here and keep an eye on Faealyn?"

"Aye… sure no problem." She answered agape still a bit awestruck.

Right as we were about to leave Merrill looked over at Maeve and very cryptically said, "Oh yea, whatever you do, don't let Faealyn tie you up."

"WHAT?" Maeve replied a bit nervously.

"Don't worry," I said, "She's getting much better. Last time we didn't even have to clean the floors."

And with that we headed to the stables.

Even though it was now midday, an autumn chill was still in the air which meant we could push our mounts a bit faster than normal. Therefore it only took us a little less than two hours to get to Alva.

As it was the last of the good weather, many farmers were in town selling the last of their harvests to buyers from all over, so there were more people in town than normal. Which was probably good for us because if the Templars were looking for us we would be harder to spot.

Merrill and I decided to wear plane cloaks over our armour, as to not draw attention to ourselves. So other than the few random people we might know who might talk to us, we moved fairly unhindered. However, I didn't feel right. There was something wrong in the air and it smelled of danger.

Alva wasn't big enough to have a Chantry but it did have a small temple so we decided to head there. Might as well go straight to the monsters den right?

As we approached the temple we began to hear a small disturbance so we quickened our pace. As we moved I couldn't help but think how in the world is it that these Templars have been in the village for less than twelve hours and already all hell was breaking lose. What the hell is it with these guys?

Sure enough, once we got within thirty yards of the temple we saw the both of them surrounded by three shades, two corpses, and one rather nasty looking revenant. And unfortunately for the Templars, the demons had the upper hand to such an extent that if we hadn't to have shown up when we did, there would be two less Templars in the world. Though depending on why they were here, any extensions on their lives that Merrill and I give them now might just be temporarily.

Destroying things dark and dangerous just happened to be Merrill's and my specialties so within a few minutes they had all been dispatched.

When we had finished, the poor Templars had been pretty much knocked unconscious so Merrill and I had to tend to them as well. As we healed them and brought around one of them took his helmet off and began to say something.

"Thank you…I thought we were done for. Running in here like you did and saving us you reminded of me of something my sister Amber…"

"CARVER!?"

"AMBER?!"

Jumping up to his feet, my brother, who had years ago joined the Templars in a vain manoeuvre to get out from underneath my shadow, looked like he had seen a ghost.

"I cannot believe it! Hundreds of miles from home you still found a way to save my ass?" He said too angrily for my liking. The last we has seen each other he had stood by me in the battle with Commander Meredith. Now he was acting like I was worse than dark spawn.

I was about to say something when he looked down at Merrill healing his partner.

"And I suppose you're still with your filthy, dyke, elf gir…" He was unable to finish the sentence because I had clocked him right across the mouth then his stomach, ribs and mouth again.

"Look you little pathetic punk. I just saved your life AGAIN and you thank me by insulting my wife? I should have let the bloody demons have you. What the fuck is your problem!" I shouted in his face.

I was so furious I was shaking. This was the very reason I never wanted to go back to Kirkwall or any other major city again. People are so stuck in their narrow minded little worlds that even when you save their lives instead of thanking you they insult you.

I brought fire to my hand and was so close to just ashing him right there when I felt Merrill's hand on my arm.

"Ma sa'lath…if you do this he wins. You're no better than they are."

Carver was literally trembling as he had never experienced me bringing my wrath down upon him before.

"I…I'm sorry Amber…Sis…please…I'm sorry."

I was still breathing heavy, wanting an excuse to do it but for a moment I saw the little brother I used to play hide and seek with. The same little brother I was strong for when father died. Luckily for him it was enough for me to collect myself.

I stepped back and lowered my flame engulfed fist.

"Amber, I'm sorry I just wasn't expecting you that's all. This whole trip has been one disaster after another and I was angry and scared ok?" Carver said with genuine sincerity though I wasn't one-hundred percent convinced he was telling the truth.

"What are you doing here Carver? Seems a bit out of your way." I demanded more than asked.

"Well not that I have to explain myself to you but we are recruiting." He said as seriously as possible.

"Recruiting demons?" I said not believing his answer.

Taking a deep breath, to obviously help keep his composure, he continued, "You don't know do you?"

"Know what?" I honestly asked.

"About the war."

At this point Merrill revived the Templar that she had been healing and helped him to his feet. Then she came and stood next to me looking as confused as I was.

"After Meredith's defeat in Kirkwall all the known mage towers revolted. When the Chantry called for piece the Templar order left the Chantry's control themselves to purge the mages out of revenge. Orlais, Ferelden and The Free Marches are embroiled in civil war from three sides." Carver said with the most severity I had ever seen him use.

"Three? Who bedsides the mages and Templars?" Merrill asked.

"The Chantry has called upon all the Kingdoms to help take control back. In many places now in Thesdas it's total chaos. Thank the creator Aveline has rallied the Kirkwall guard to keep control there but she doesn't have the resources or the manpower to fight a war. Everybody is blaming the other and its one, big hot pile of crap."

"So you were here recruiting for the Templars?" I asked.

"Actually no. A few reasonable Templars like Cullen and myself have formed a renegade Templar force loyal to the Chantry. We are out here recruiting because not everyone knows what is going on yet so we are trying to reach the few Templars that haven't picked sides yet. I would assume the main Templars will be out this way soon as well both looking for recruits and apostates." He paused then continued, "And Sis, they are killing apostates, mages and us on sight. You need to hide."

"I think we are ok here, nobody knows we are apostates nor do they know our real identity. We live pretty far out so I doubt they would find us and even if they did we have contingencies in place." Looking at his partner who seemed to have finally cleared his head I asked, "Who is your friend here?"

Carver went on to explain that his Templar counterpart was the very Templar I had saved a few times back in Kirkwall named Keran. He was a good friend to both Merrill and I so we were happy to see that he didn't support the main body of Templars. We hadn't recognized him so far as his full-face helmet had been on.

After talking a bit more Carver explained the demons he was fighting were from a few blood mages that had infiltrated Alva's temple and had panicked when they saw him and Keran approaching in full Templar armour.

Carver seemed to be telling the truth and I would nearly trust Keran with my life so I asked them if they wanted to come to our place and hide out for a while. At first Carver was hesitant but when I told him he had a ten year old niece now and Merrill and I were married I saw a flash or the Carver of our youth on his face and he relented.

Carver blamed himself for mother's murder because he was off training when it happened. It really wasn't his fault of course but no matter how hard I tried to convince him otherwise he was never able to let it go nor was he ever the same man. I think the idea of having family again appealed to him.

I was still worried about his remark concerning Merrill when he had first seen me today however, so I would have to talk about it with him later in private. If he actually knew how close he really was to dying when he said it, he'd probably still be running out of town now.

BREAK

After a few tense moments with Maeve, we eventually convinced her that Carver and Keran were no threat. Luckily for me I had taken the time to explain to both Carver and Keran her situation so once we were inside there was very little awkwardness.

As I suspected Carver warmed right up to Faealyn and vice versa. Seeing them play together on the floor really made me miss mother and father. I also couldn't help but think of my poor sister Bethany who had died at the hands of an ogre on our escape from Lothering to Kirkwall. Sometimes I couldn't remember her face anymore which scared me for some reason. And as much as I tried not to, I felt guilty sometimes that I was here living this life and she wasn't.

Merrill sat down next to me and leaned her head on my shoulder.

"Oh emma lath, anything I can do?" She whispered.

Looking at her lovely, sweet face I just said, "Just never stop being you."

"Oh! I don't think can be anybody else can I?"

We continued to make small talk with everyone until it was Faealyn's bedtime. Much to my surprise Carver insisted on telling her a bedtime story about a ravishingly, handsome Templar who rescued a princess from a scary dragon. Which you might at first think was a sweet gesture but it would most likely take Merrill and I a month to convince her a dragon wasn't going to attack our little homestead. People never think of this stuff until they have their own kids do they?

Once Faealyn was sound asleep, all us adults (and Carver) discussed the current, general state of Ferelden. It didn't sound good at all and I was particularly worried when Keran informed us that a couple of Chantry Seekers were looking for both I and The Hero of Ferelden. I was familiar with one of the Seekers named Leliana but the other one named Cassandra I did not know. However she sounded especially devoted in her desire to find me and if she was anywhere as devoted to her ideology as Leliana was, we were going to have to keep a good lookout for her.

I asked both Carver and Keran what their long-term plans were and I was surprised when Carver said they were heading towards Amaranthine.

Amaranthine is a coastal city in Northern Ferelden. It was once a small fishing village but due to its fortuitous location it soon became an important port city in Thedas.

However, it's not the most cosmopolitan city in the world. Furthermore, because of several, offshore cold water currents, giving it miserable weather most of the year, Amaranthine is not on the short list of most desirable places to live in Thedas.

The reason Carver and Keran were travelling there was to meet our uncle Marcus Hawke. Apparently he had contacted Carver out of some sort of desperation that needed the expertise of a Templar. However, due to the delicate nature of his problem, he could only divulge it in person with Carver. Since Carver and Keran needed to keep moving and recruiting, they had decided that Amaranthine would be included on their recruiting route.

Uncle Marcus, as I called him, is a major influence in not just Amaranthine but all of North Eastern Ferelden. He owns a fair amount land and is moderately wealthy. He also had an impressive military career and was a trusted advisor to King Cailin before his death at Ostagar. He also supported Arl Eamon at the infamous Lands Meet that saw the false King Loghain ousted.

When we were younger, Carver and I spent every other summer at Uncle Marcus's estate in Amaranthine. That's when we first met his children the twins Idona and Jacke. They also came down to stay with us in Lothering alternating summers.

Idona and Jacke are very close for siblings probably due to fact that they are twins. I was very jealous of their relationship as I was never really that close to either Bethany or Carver. But being the oldest I was always strapped with the additional responsibility of helping mother take care of them, especially after father died.

Idona is exceptionally bright and excelled in school. When she was sixteen she travelled to Orlais and studied for four years with both military and scientific scholars. Once she received her letters of completion, she was commissioned as an officer into a special military unit that is utilized almost exclusively for operations in extremely hostile environments. Again she excelled and the last I heard she was commanding a regiment of over five hundred troops and reports directly to a general.

Jacke, although not quite as academically gifted as his sister, also went to Orlais for his studies but he focused on languages and classical arts. He speaks at least ten languages and is a technical genius. At the age of nineteen he helped design a new way of smelting metals that increased the life of edged weapons by thirty percent while at the same time making them lighter and sharper. Instead of joining the military he works as an intelligence advisor and private mercenary for exclusively important nobles or royalty. He biggest claim to fame was an undercover operation deep within the Tevinter Imperium that resulted in the assassination of someone within the royal family.

Mother had always felt a bit inferior to Marcus's family but she was married to an apostate with two apostate children so all things considered I think she did a very good job. Also, Carver and my accomplishments in Kirkwall more than speaks well for our family's success.

I was having a bit of trouble coming up with what was possibly so bad that Marcus would need Carver's help of all people. I was about to ask Carver this when abruptly he asked me something of me for the first time in his life. I was nearly shocked and it took me a few seconds to actually make sure he had said what I think he did. He asked me for help.

The entire room was staring at me waiting for a response when I shrugged my shoulders and timidly said, "Sure?"

We talked a bit more and I soon discovered why Carver wanted help. He came to the conclusion that there might be someone in Uncle's family that has started to show magic and that's why they wanted a Templar they could trust. I had to admit it made a lot of sense.

Apparently, ever since Knight Commander Meredith had ordered all the mages in Kirkwall summarily put to death, regardless of age, for something a rogue mage had orchestrated, he has been questioning his calling to be a Templar. I think at one point having two sisters and a father who were apostates probably made the situation even more murky for him. I didn't envy the inner struggle he was dealing with.

Thoughts were spinning through my head, if indeed we had a family member who showed magic he or she was in real danger now. It makes perfect sense why Carver wants my help and why Uncle sent for him. We would have to get there as soon as possible to help.

I was not particularly happy at the thought of going all the way to the far side Ferelden to help them but they are family. As I was thinking to myself about the logistics of such an endeavour, an overwhelming sense of sadness hit me right in the pit of my stomach. If I hadn't already been sitting I probably would have had trouble keeping my feet.

I looked over at Merrill and she was looking down with such a glum look across her face and I knew what I was feeling. Merrill didn't want to leave. Oh my! I was feeling her sadness!

Carver, Keran and Maeve were staring at me because they knew something was wrong.

I looked up at Carver and said, "I can't help you."

He looked at me with a mix of confusion and anger before asking, "Why the hell not?"

Looking at Carver's hurt eyes, I stammered for a moment or two then finally collected myself.

"I know you are going to be angry with me, yet again but Carver…I have a family here now, including a ten year old daughter. We just got the house sorted out for winter and we are just starting to make friends here. But more than that, Merrill and I left Kirkwall so we wouldn't have to deal with this crap. If we go out there we are going to get caught up in everything all over again. We just want some peace for ourselves, we earned that didn't we?"

Carver, obviously frustrated with me, immediately came back with, "You just can't walk away from who you are Amber. Hell, the whole reason the world is falling apart now is because of what you did and now you just want to wash your hands of the whole thing?"

Now it was my turn to be a bit frustrated, "Carver, I didn't do anything except keep a mad woman from committing mass murder. I never took sides and matter-of-fact I had always said there needed to be compromise on both sides. I can't help it if the circle used what I did as a rallying call. Do you understand that?"

"I understand that your actions has inspired a huge civil war that is engulfing most of Thesdas and now that you have a family again you want to run away and play house. "

"That's not fair! How many years of our lives have Merrill and I sacrificed saving and helping others? How many of our friends have we buried? How much have we EVER asked in return? NOTHING! Carver, we deserve time for ourselves! We've done our duty for crown and country! And…for the first time since father died I'm happy Carver. I'm really happy."

Standing up and clearly planning to stomp off he replied, "Fine! You be happy in your little farm house and pretend your life is a fairytale and when the world comes burning down around you, you'll have no one to blame but your damn self!"

"THAT IS NOT FAIR YOU IGNORANT JACKASS!" Merrill shouted at the top of her lungs, "When you left your mother to go train with the Templars, who do you think had to mop-up the emotional wreck that was you mother? Who do you think kept your whole family from falling to pieces when you first reached Kirkwall? Every time you ran off like a little, hurt puppy because Amber was doing her damn job for your family who do think dealt with the pain and hurt with your mother? Amber has given her entire life to help others including you! And you can stand there and accuse her of being selfish? Stop acting so damn sanctimonious and do something for yourself for a change! You have been bitching and moaning since I met you about how Amber always gets the glory or how she always has to be the hero and all this other bleeding heart rubbish. So now you have a chance to be the hero all for yourself and get all the glory for yourself but you're moaning and complaining because she won't help you? Give me a freaking break! Pull up your big boys pants and be a goddamn man for once in your life!"

Looking a Merrill with hate in his eyes, "What the hell do you know about anything? You're a dirty, elven blood mage that has had your eyes set on stealing my sister and her money since the day you met h..."

I often take pride in that one of the reasons I think I have been so successful in life is that I take the time to think things out rationally before I act. However this time, before the words had even left Carver's mouth a bolt of lightning sent him flying back and ultimately crashing into a wall.

I had finally lost it with him and had every intention of hurting him bad but as I jumped up to really punish him, both Merrill and Maeve tackled me to the floor and Keran put himself between Carver and me.

I was so angry that I was completely irrational. Unfortunately, despite my hostile intentions, I was, in all honesty, fairly and soundly pinned to the ground. Between all the noise and chaos I became aware of Merrill trying to talk me down and Maeve yelling at Keran to get Carver out of the house before I could get away from them.

Then out of nowhere I started laughing, not just soft chuckling but really to the core belly laughing. For some reason, the whole situation became horribly humorous as I imagined the spectacle of a wee elf and short, ginger haired woman sitting on top of me trying to keep me from thrashing my own stubborn brother.

Blowing my own hair out of my face, I turned my head up to look for Carver. At this point he was recovering from his sudden and unceremonious collision with one of my walls. As soon as he cleared his head, he looked over at me on the bottom of a rather motley group of women and try as he might, he was unable to quell a laughing attack similar as the one that had just struck me. He ended up being affected so severely, he quickly fell to ground and was soon rolling on his back barking mad with laughter.

By this time the three of them were looking at us like we had lost the plot completely. Composing myself, as seriously as I could articulate it I simply asked, "Haven't you ever had a kid brother?" And then started violently laughing again.

I admit, as Carver and Keran rode out of sight, there was a part of me that was worried for them. I've been Carver's big sister all his life and letting him ride head-on into danger was counter intuitive. But holding Merrill's hand in my right hand and Faealyn's hand in my left hand, I knew I had made the right decision. Besides, there is bound to be more than enough adventure around here to keep us busy without having to go clear across the country to deal with yet more family drama. (For the record, if I ever claim to not have enough excitement in my life again, just smack me a few times.)

My brother had been gone just under a month when some of our chickens first started to go missing.

When we bought the house we also inherited about twenty hens. Which was great for us because we tended to use a lot eggs .

So between what we consumed personally and what Merrill and Faealyn used on their weekly "baking day", we usually went through about four dozen eggs a week.

Our average daily egg yield from the hen house was around ten. This left us with almost double what we needed for just ourselves. So once per week, we would sell the remainder to Maeve or the pub down in the village.

Merrill and I decided to make collecting the eggs part of Faealyn's daily chores. Because of this, neither I nor Merrill really kept an eye on how many were coming in on a daily basis. So at first, neither of us noticed a drop in the yield until the end of the week when Maeve came to pickup her usual order. Most of the time, we had about three dozen left over to give her but this particular week we only had one.

I asked Faealyn if she was sure she had retrieved all the eggs and she assured me that she had. She also mentioned that there didn't seem to be as many hens in the pen recently. So almost immediately I assumed a fox or weasel was getting into the henhouse.

After having a quick conversation with Faealyn to remind her to speak up sooner if she ever noticed anything missing on the farm again, Maeve and I decided to go take a look at said henhouse.

Nothing really looked amiss when we first crossed the largest part of our side garden to get to the coop, but once we were there we counted only fifteen hens. We were missing five.

Both Maeve and I looked for a hole in the actual coop. I had placed a binding spell on the wooden door so that a human thief wouldn't be able to gain access without having to break the physical lock. I was particularly proud of that spell because it was one of the first I had taught Faealyn because she had to be able to close and open the door herself to retrieve eggs.

We also searched all around the pen for animal tracks or any other signs of trouble and came up empty again.

After a lot of fruitless searching for any sign of what was taking the poor hens, I was quite frustrated. It was nearly winter and was no way we could find anymore laying hens this time of year to replace what we had lost. Which meant we had to keep the ones we still had very safe.

To be extra thorough, I actually got on my hands and knees and crawled into the small part of the pen where the hens slept at night. It had an opening just big enough for me to squeeze through. Again, everything looked fine and safe. It was a conundrum for sure.

After spending even more time looking for possible signs of trouble, I was actually beginning to question myself if we actually did have twenty chickens or not.

Frustrated due to my lack of an explanation for the missing hens, I cast a spell that protected the whole pen by enveloping it in a bubble of energy. It would only last for about forty-eight hours but if whatever was trying to break in disarmed the spell, I would know immediately.

Suddenly, I became aware of one of those odd feelings I get when something isn't quite right. So once Maeve and I made it back to the house I relieved Faealyn of egg duty for a few days. I didn't want her out there just in case something dangerous was lurking about.

Later that night, the three of us were in the front room keeping warm by the main fire place. Merrill was patiently teaching Faealyn how to water paint and I had a few of my father's old spell books out researching a way to condense my normal fireball spell into a much more intense conical spray that I could then direct through small openings.

I had just found an interesting section on magical compression when I felt the protection spell I had cast on the henhouse snap. I jumped to my feet so fast I actually startled Faealyn quite a bit. The worried look on her face made me feel horrible.

I went over and hugged her tight as I was feeling quite a bit guilty for scaring her. It really worried me that she was so upset. I then scooped her up and cradled her in my arms. We had never exposed her to anything frightening at all so I made a mental note to discuss the situation with Merrill once Faealyn was asleep later. I did not want this little girl to live in fear of anything.

I told Merrill I had to go outside to investigate what was going on with the chickens. She nodded and took Faealyn from my arms. I gave them both a quick kiss and headed out.

Once completely outside, the crisp autumn chill sent a shiver down my spine as my own body heat drifted into the darkness. My breath was visible as smoke in the icy, pale moonlight. All I could hear besides my own heartbeat was the frost covered, grass crunching beneath my boots. Occasionally, a lone owl would sing her lonely lament.

The smoky scent of burning oak and ash from our chimney reminded me of the loving, warmth inside awaiting my return. I could sense in my mind Merrill and sweet Faealyn playing by our hearth's warmth.

As the moon was full and directly overhead, I let her hauntingly, blue glow illuminate my path to the henhouse.

Whenever I walk in the moonlight, I remember Merrill telling me about how the elves will invoke Mythal, the goddess who created the moon, when they need protection. So as I walked, recalling the warmth and joy within our little house, I bowed my head and prayed to Mythal to guide me true and strong against the foe awaiting me in the darkness.

As I got closer to the entrance to the pen, something burst through from the ground below and took hold of my legs with an icy cold grip. Then I became aware of a blackening silence trying to consume me from the inside out. Out of instinct more than anything else I pushed magical light out from within me to compensate the darkness that seemed to want to grab a hold of me from all sides. I remembered months ago when Merrill and I put on our magical light show for Faealyn. I then clung to that feeling and would not let it go.

An icy, black force snapped around me, trying to dislodge the joyous memory I was clinging to with the fervour of a hundred women . Now I understood, whatever happened from this point on, I could not release myself from that feeling. If I lost it I was surely dead. It was my tether back to reality for whatever was now attacking me was not of this realm.

I closed my eyes and focused on Merrill's face in the meadow that night. I feasted on Faealyn's smile when she finally revealed herself to us. I remembered with pure ecstasy the melody that Merrill played and I remembered our bodies embraced as we danced.

The more I sought the light, the more I felt icy, black tendrils wrap around me and pull me down. It squeezed and contracted tighter with every passing second. I could feel my breath becoming colder and shorter. I wasn't even sure if I was in the real world any more.

Digging deeper I pushed back. I held my breath and slowly moved my mana into my staff. I had an idea of how to break the black grip consuming me but was going to be very, very tough. And the only way it would work would be to transfer almost all of me into my staff giving the false appearance that I had died. Though technically I would still be on the very edge of the mortal coil.

Slowly, agonizing inch by inch, I began to relax and go limp in my attempt to fool the malevolent force that was much closer to actually taking my life than I was willing to admit. My heart was no longer beating, I was living on borrowed time. As I felt myself fall just a bit deeper into the abyss, the force loosened assuming I was dead. That was all the room I needed.

Invoking a spell that automatically pushed one-hundred percent of my mana back out through Malcolm's Honour and my life force back into me simultaneously, the demon holding me experienced a moment of confusion and let its guard down. When that happened it became overwhelmed with too many different spells hitting it at one time and was soon brought to its knees.

Luckily for me, the time it took for the demon to be overwhelmed, I had already gained back some mana and had more than enough power to paralyze the beast that had almost just killed me.

I looked at it now on its knees. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. It was black as midnight with just barely a humanoid form more resembling a liquid clot of midnight black. It was no bigger than Faealyn in height and just a wee bit thicker than her in form.

"Who are you demon?" I demanded.

It said nothing so I zapped it with three huge bolts of lightning while it was still paralysed.

"We are the Brood of Athula…" it said with a sickening, wet, raspy voice. Besides having the vilest sounding voice I had ever heard, its breath smelt of decaying, rotten corpses. I had never had to fight so hard not to vomit in my life.

"There's more of you?" I asked.

"Yes and we are coming…" it answered with even more obnoxious breath.

By this time I was getting angry that it was stalling so I zapped it repeatedly and re-paralysed it.

"Listen you putrid piece of filth, tell me why you are here or this will be last thing you ever do." I barked.

"We are here for her and we will have her human."

By this time my patience was completely gone and I just engulfed it fire to be rid of it. I was tired of its stupid games.

As I watched it burn and melt into black slime, it said one more thing as its life force sizzled away, "No matter what you do…we will take her back…nothing escapes us…not even the… Faealyn."

_Instantly my heart exploded within my chest_ - Just earlier today Faealyn was out here alone gathering the eggs! _I couldn't find my breath_ - She was right here where I was standing! _All I could hear was my own heartbeat thudding in my head _- If that thing had found her first! _I_ _actually had to lean on something and grab my chest _- What if they find her!

I fell to my knees and tried to gulp in all the air that I could. That didn't work so I forced myself to breathe deeply. After a few moments things started to slow down. The dizziness was abating. I was able to function again. I had just experienced my first panic attack and I didn't like it one bit.

Once fully functional again, I cast a huge dispel magic spell to make sure there was nothing else hiding from me. I then pounded the ground with the base end of staff sending out a huge wave of positive energy in all directions for a hundred yards from where I was standing. It was like someone dropped a huge stone in the middle of a supernatural pond and the widening ripples were waves of positive energy cleansing everything they touched.

Then I cast the strongest protection spells I knew over and through the house. I actually saw a small ghost come flying out of the house and disappear into the night.

When I finally got back inside our house, Merrill and Faealyn were laughing and playing on the floor by the fire. I could tell Merrill knew something major had happened and was waiting for me to say something. Instead of speaking to her at right then, I gave her my "lets talk later" look and spoke to Faealyn.

"Hey sweetie, would you like to sleep with your mommies tonight?"

Faealyn shook her head enthusiastically yes.

Merrill, now really getting a sense of the severity of my concern, scooted just that much closer to Faealyn.

ONE MONTH LATER

A virgin blanket of snow enveloped our little farm this morning and as beautiful as it was, both Merrill and I were still horribly preoccupied with the maleficent force that was after our daughter. That being said we still found time to play outdoors all afternoon.

Merrill, by some strange quirk of fate, had never actually played in the snow before so between her and Faealyn's insistence on making a snowman, building a snow fort and waging the longest snowball conflict in known history, we were nearly apostate-cicles when we finally made it back inside.

I had been smart enough to stoke both fireplaces in the house before we left to play outside so it was still toasty warm inside when it was finally time to retire to the house for the evening . We were all sitting around the bigger of the two fireplaces warming our feet and drinking hot coco when Maeve knocked on the door.

Once Maeve had heard about our little run in with the "Brood of Athula" she had insisted on helping find out what we were dealing with. So two weeks ago she road north to Wildervale in a search of a rumoured group of apostates.

Apparently these apostates have been our general local area for some time and we hoped they might have some knowledge of Athula's little fun bunch. Between the Templars gunning for our heads and all the Mage Circles apparently disbanded due to the civil war, our research options were very limited.

The Dalish Keeper, who had preformed our hand-fasting ceremony, was also researching on her end. She thought she remembered the name Athula but couldn't quite remember from where or when. Though just knowing that someone out there maybe knew something about them brought us a little relief.

So now that Maeve had made it back I was eager to find out if she had heard anything.

By the time we got Maeve's horse settled in the barn and Maeve herself a bit warmed up by the fire, I could no longer wait and had to ask what, if anything, she had learned.

First, she was very excited that she was actually able to track down the apostates relatively easy. Supposedly, between the coin we had given her to work with and her own natural, sweet charm she was able to persuade people to trust her quickly. She reminded me of Merrill in that aspect.

Next, she told us about the actual apostates themselves. There were six of them altogether and all but two of them were very old. The two that were comparatively younger were still in their mid-forties. So between the lot of them, we had a lot of personal experience to work with.

Challon, the oldest one in the lot, who was born in the Tevinter Imperium, told Maeve he had indeed heard of Athula but not of anything referred to as the Brood of Athula. He went on to explain that the Athula he knew of was an Elven blood-mage from way, way back shortly after the fall of The People.

Challon also remembered that Athula was exiled from his own people due to his radical views on how to deal with the initial human invasion of Thedas. Athula wanted to wage an all out war upon the humans immediately but back at that point in time the Elven leadership was still taking dozens of years to make relatively simple decisions much less those that involved genocide. Frustrated to no end, Athula commanding a small army of radical Elves led a brutal assault on the humans anyway.

Athula's whole plan hung on the assumption that it took the Elven leadership so long to do anything, he could probably wage his private war unimpaired for years before they would react one way or the other. By then, he had hoped to impede or halt the tide of the human invasion and in doing so obtain the support of the Elven populace at large.

However, the humans reproduced much faster than he was aware of and thus they were able to wield relatively large armies in short periods of time. Consequently , Athula's army, although technically more potent per capita, was soon overrun by the vast human forces.

Athula himself, managed to escape from both the humans and the Elven leadership by retreating into the depths of deep roads. After his escape, he was never officially heard of again but there were rumours for decades that several hundred human despising Elves departed with him.

As intriguing as Maeve's news was, that fact that this all took place centuries ago seemed to bear no relevance on our own current situation. However, armed with this information maybe the Keeper could make more sense of it so we planned to visit her tomorrow.

Since it was already late we had Maeve stay with us overnight and asked her to join us on our trek to see the Keeper the next day.

Our four hour ride to the Dalish camp went smoothly and we soon found ourselves snug and warm within the Keeper's hut. Faealyn however, was soon playing with the other Elven children out in the snow as we didn't want her to know about the situation yet.

My heart went out to poor Merrill as she always feels somewhat awkward around the Keeper, or any other Keeper for that matter, due to the horrific ordeal she suffered at the hands of her own tribe leader years ago.

However, I'm greatly heartened by the difference I have observed in Merrill both since finding Faealyn and invoking our hand-fasting ceremony. Before either one, it was like pulling teeth to get her to go anywhere near a Dalish camp. But now her inner strength, that for most part of her life has been riddled with insecurities and doubts, is now firm and steady. The affect on her has been nothing but astounding. Apparently, her role as a mother and wife suits her even more than either one of us had expected.

I knew instantly when she was saddened by the thought of leaving our little world here to adventure with Carver and Keran that she had really made the transition from a naïve, fun loving girl to a strong, devoted woman who happened to also be a wife and mother. Both roles suits her so well, I sometimes have a hard time remembering the Merrill of old anymore.

She has always been innately strong willed but in the past when confronted with her own insecurities she had come to depend a lot on me for additional strength and courage. Now, however, she is becoming a pillar of courage and wisdom all unto her own and being able to observe it from my end is simply a wonder to behold.

After exchanging the normal pleasantries, we told the Keeper what we had found out about Athula via Challon. She was actually surprised that a shemlen (human) knew so much about Elven history. Luckily for us, she had unearthed quite a bit more of the legend of Athula.

According to her sources, when Athula escaped into the deep roads he almost immediately ran afoul of the dark spawn. He and his followers, which were actually more close to dozens than the hundreds that Challon had eluded to, were able to hold their own for quite a while. But in order to remain alive, Athula had to sacrifice one of his own each year in a blood-magic ritual.

Because Athula had hid underground for so long he did not know that the humans had replaced the Elves as the primary powers on the surface. So he still assumed the Elven leadership wanted him dead and he remained hidden as long as possible.

As the years went along, he soon had sacrificed all the male Elves in his group of followers. Thus, he himself had to breed with the remaining females to produce all the new progeny. However, due to the slow reproductive rate of Elves, he was unable to produce enough new stock for the sacrifice.

When he did eventually have to return to the surface in order to replenish his stock for the blood-magic sacrifices, he quickly discovered the surface Elves were mostly relegated to slaves for the humans.

Surprisingly, when the humans tried to capture Athula and his remaining female tribe members, they decimated the humans in battle. It was a complete slaughter. Neither humans nor surface Elves had anywhere near the power Athula's tribe did.

Athula soon deducted, when he and his followers fled so far down into the deep roads, they accidently protected themselves from whatever force that had stripped the surface Elves from their tremendous ancient powers.

This meant Athula and his few remaining followers retained the powers of the Elves of old.

Cleverly, Athula quickly captured plenty of new stock and hastily retreated back into the deep roads. He realized that as long as he stayed as far below as he had, he would most likely retain his powers.

For another century everything stayed the same for Athula. As long as he didn't return to the surface he would retain his powers. Nevertheless, something then unexpected occurred that changed everything.

Athula, soon grew tired of ruling a kingdom without a sky and desired to return to and conquer the surface. He calculated that between the remaining untainted Elves and an army of demons controlled through blood-magic he would easily march across all of Thedas unabated.

In order to complete his nefarious plan he needed to devise a spell to protect him and the other remaining followers. That was when he made his first mistake because he sought out a particularly dangerous desire demon to aide him.

Hearing this last part Merrill piped out, "Oooh! Another desire demon! I had no idea they were so popular!"

Both the Keeper and myself looked at her and rolled our eyes in unison.

The Keeper took a deep breath and continued.

"This is where is gets confusing. The record isn't clear on how the demon actually helped him but what it is clear is what she asked for as her price."

The Keeper stopped again and appeared more serious than I have ever seen her. We could tell she was forming her words carefully. What she was about to tell us was very significant. After yet another really deep breath she continued.

"Back in the time when The People ruled all of Thedas and before the appearance of humans there were rumours of another humanoid species that shared the world with us. Most of The People assumed they were mere shadow or speculation but to many their existence was unquestionable.

They were said to look very similar to The People except their faces and bodies tended to be softer and rounder. Their eyes, although as large and stunning as those of The People, were set closer to each other.

They were so similar to us in fact, that there were rumours that they actually impersonated us and then infiltrated into our society so well that some became our most powerful leaders. They could even and often did interbreed with us.

However, there was a significant difference between us and them. Just as The People are associated with nature and the earth itself, these people were said to be of almost pure magic to such an extent, that they could easily travel to the fade and back at will or even occupy both at the same time.

From what I gathered from our oldest records they were referred to as "The Children of the Forest" or more specifically the old Elven word, "Faealyn" or "Fae" for short."

A chill went down all of our spines and a cold wind blew in from outside. The Keeper was referring to the actual legends of the "Fae". Now considered completely fantasy but at one time, even by the humans, they were highly revered and simultaneously horribly feared.

The Fae are legends of legends. They were rumoured to live in a society beholden to no one, even the gods. They had their own magic different from ours and completely independent of the Fade. It was said to be somehow connected to life itself or perhaps the spark that made life possible. Either way, they were beings that were almost incompressible in their very nature.

Clearing her throat the Keeper went on, "So the demon demanded someone of Fae blood as her price. And believe it or not, Athula was able to capture one. But instead of giving Athula and his followers a spell to protect them from the weakening force on the surface, she transformed them all into demons themselves. I assume one of these demons is what attacked you at your house."

Merrill spoke next, "So why do these demons want Faealyn?"

The Keeper now actually smiled. "Well this is the best part of the story or perhaps the most unexpected. The desire demon apparently used blood from the Fae in her spell to transform Athula and his tribe into demons. However, somehow during the process the Fae destroyed the desire demon and took control of the lesser demons herself."

"Oh! I bet the desire demon didn't see that coming." Merrill quipped.

"Quite right dear." The Keeper replied.

"That still doesn't explain why they want Faealyn." I said.

Suddenly, Merrill and I came to same conclusion at the same time and quickly looked at each other than at the Keeper. Who by her own expression knew what we were thinking.

"Your daughter told you her name was Faealyn didn't she?" The Keeper asked but more as a formality than a real desire to find the truth.

Merrill and I slightly nodded while trying to sort our thoughts.

"Your daughter, whether she actually knows it or not, is either Fae or has Fae blood in her."

Merrill and I just sat there trying to absorb what we were hearing. I distinctly remember feeling like I was in some weird dream. It was one of the oddest moments of my life.

"If that is true, then why did we find her they way we did?" Merrill asked before I could.

"I would assume that at one point in her life, her and her family here probably captured by Athula and his brood. Most likely she escaped and hid in the forest."

I should have been more amazed at what the Keeper was suggesting Faealyn really is but at that point a wave of thick, sadness hit me. The idea of that sweet, little girl being held captive by demons and all baggage that went with it, was just too much for both me and Merrill.

Merrill leaned hard into my chest in an attempt to hide her tears and I just lowered the side of my head onto the top of hers in a vain attempt to do the same. It had been a long time since we both had been this upset.

After a few more minutes of tears and composing ourselves, we next asked, "Even if all of this is true why are they still chasing her? How do they even know where she is?"

"Most likely they need her and others like her to keep from dying. And since Fae are so rare they aren't going to just let her go without a fight. And although I am completely speculating here, I would assume the original Fae probably has some type of connection with her. Thus that's how they found her even after she left the forest. She has probably been running for years."

"You keep saying her? How do you know that evil Fae is a woman?" Merrill asked.

"Ah", answered the Keeper, "That's another peculiar trait about the Fae, as far as we now, they're all female."

"Well that's probably why there are so few of them," Maeve said half joking half serious.

"You would think so but according to legend they don't reproduce the same we other humanoids do. It's part of their magical nature apparently."

"They all must take turns taking out the rubbish then." Merrill said suddenly as if she was having an epiphany.

"What? Why do you say that?" Maeve asked.

"Well.. with no men there to do it, how else would they go about it?"

"Merrill…..oh never mind" Maeve said as she gave up.

We stayed and talked to the Keeper for another hour or so before we began our long trek back home. Again, as it was late we asked Maeve just to spend the night with us so she didn't have to ride into town so late on such a cold day.

All things considered we were in good spirits even with the sudden knowledge that our daughter might be some unworldly magical being. It was a lot to wrap our heads around and I found myself daydreaming more than I usually do..

So it was really a shock when I first noticed the four Templars coming towards us when we got within about two-hundred yards of our house. As they charged us on foot, I noticed one of them bearing the standard of Starkhaven.

I looked over at Maeve and said, "Well I guess sooner or later this was going to happen."

"Aye, they are a persistent lot I will give them that."

As we were preparing to meet them in battle, by readying our weapons and assembling our formation, Merrill spoke up from behind and said, "If its at all possible, can you try to save one of them? It's my turn to take out the rubbish and I'm really not in the mood."

With a genuine laugh, we all spurred our mounts into a forward charge and began our rout of certain, unlucky group of Starkhaven Templars.

It didn't take us long to dispatch the Templars. But by the looks of them I shouldn't have been surprised. They were all unshaven, thin and one of them smelt of alcohol. These were not top tier Templars.

I remembered years ago, I met an ex-Templar named Samson that had been cut off from the mineral lyrium that Templars ingested to create their powers. These guys were very similar in appearance to him so I had to assume the Mage/Templar war must be disrupting the flow of lyrium. Without lyrium to keep the Templars rational, things could get really ugly for Thedas.

Maeve, Faealyn and I then took the horses to the stable to get them set up for the night. While we were there, I checked in on our mare "Ebony Blue" because she was due to give birth any day.

She seemed happy and content in her warm, straw lined stable. Maeve, being more knowledgeable about horses than I, gave her a quick once over as well. She agreed with my assessment that any day now we'd have a new member of the family, so to speak.

Merrill and I are planning on letting Faealyn name the new foal and raise it for her own. The bond between a young girl and horse raised at by her own hand is one of the most magical phenomena in the world.

Since she knew it was going to be her foal, Faealyn made us promise to let her watch the birth no matter what time of day or night. It was all we could do to talk her into going to see the Keeper earlier in the day as she was afraid it would happen while we were out.

Merrill was a bit concerned that Faealyn might be too young to see such a graphic display of nature or Mythal forbid it be a stillborn, but she was at that age were she was becoming curious about the ways of such things so we decided it was for the best. And between you and me, there wasn't a force on Thesdas that was going to keep her out of that stable when the time came.

By the time we got to the house, Merrill had already started both fires places and had the woodstove roaring as well, so it was already thankfully getting warmer inside.

On the way back from the Dalish tribe, Maeve had downed two grouse that Merrill volunteered to cook for dinner. Since we had a nice, late crop of autumn fruits and vegetables, she was going to prepare the grouse with spiced, roasted pumpkin and boiled beetroot.

Earlier in the morning, she had pre-prepared a scrumptious, thick bread pudding that we would have for dessert. For an extra special treat she has made vanilla and clove flavoured snow-cream that we could drizzle over the heated bread pudding.

Our stomachs were already aching with hunger pains in anticipation for such a great feast.

When we finally sat down to eat, we shared a few stories with both Maeve and Faealyn about our adventures in Kirkwall. Both of them were highly amused with our tale regarding how we finally got a shy and socially awkward, Aveline together with her eventual husband.

However, I think when it came to repeating some of the more "exotic" parts of what Isabela had said to her favourite foil Aveline, poor Faealyn was a bit lost.

This was especially evident when I mentioned the time Isabela was winding Aveline up concerning her lack of romantic relations by saying, _"Wait, you've gone four years without? You must creak like a rusty hinge"_. We all laughed like hell but the very next thing out of poor Faealyn's mouth was, "Did she creak because of all her armour?". Which of course sent us in another over the top laughing jag.

As we ate our pudding, Merrill and I broke down and asked Maeve if she would come live with us. Merrill and I had been discussing it for a few weeks because we were so worried about Maeve being on her own so much of the time. On top of that, now our daughter seems to have acquired her very own demonic fan club. Subsequently, we really need an additional set of eyes around the place to help look out for trouble. So it seemed an amicable solution to both problems.

Since Maeve had a real, independent streak in her, we were expecting her to resist but she actually said she was going to ask us the same thing later tonight! We all then decided in a day or two we would all ride into Alva to fetch her belongings.

Later that night, Merrill, Faealyn and I were all sitting by the main fireplace drinking warm, spiced cider waiting for Maeve to come back inside. She had decided to go check in the expecting mare one more time before bed.

Merrill and Faealyn were painting yet again. It had become part of our nightly ritual. They would paint and I would go through my father's old spell books.

This time I was looking for a spell that would counter or negate the affect of the "cleanse" ability Templars had. This particular skill of theirs really annoyed me so I was investing more and more time looking for its counter.

I was also researching if there was a way to construct a staff that was much smaller and more easily concealed. As Faealyn was apparently the target of some big league baddies I wanted to see if there a way to give her a staff like object she could carry on her person without it being obvious.

We had already pulled her from school down in the village not only because she was away from us during that time but if they did attack her while she was in class the collateral damage could be horrible.

Since she was already behind her peers in school taking her out of school was a hard decision. But now that Maeve was going to live here, Merrill and I are going to ask her to tutor Faealyn. Maeve had received a very extensive education so hopefully Faealyn would do well by her.

I was about to ask Merrill when we should talk to Maeve about it when Maeve herself came bursting in the door and exclaimed, "It's time! The foal is on the way!"

Now please understand, foals are born everyday all over the world. And it's not particularly that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things. However, this was our first new addition to the farm and into a household of all women and one of them being a ten year old girl. So the subsequent squeal of joy that instantly exploded from within all of us, in all honesty, would have actually woke Corypheus if we hadn't done so already back in Kirkwall. It was so loud, our two cats that had been laying in front of the fire taking a toasty nap were sacred so bad we didn't see them again until late the next day.

It took us a few minutes to get our warm clothes and shoes on but we finally made it to the barn. But as soon as we walked in we knew something was wrong.

The poor mare was lying on her side in the stall and breathing very hard. This was bad as even I knew that most of the time horses gave birth standing up and by the wave of concern that was now washing over Maeve's face I knew my concerns were valid.

Sweet Faealyn must have picked up on our concern because she tugged on my arm and looked at me with her big green eyes and asked , "Mommy, Is Ebony Blue going to be alright?"

As I honestly didn't know what was going on I just answered, "Maeve and I are going to do our best love."

Then I motioned for Merrill to come and take Faealyn while Maeve and I looked at the fallen mare.

As soon as we were in her pen we both knew what was wrong. We could see one small hoof protruding from the mare. The foal was coming breach which meant unless we could do something it would take both of their lives.

I looked over at Merrill who by this time knew what I was feeling and pulled Faealyn closer to her.

I asked Maeve if there was anything we could do. She said the only way would be to push the one exposed leg back in and try to get both legs at the same time. The foal was too large and far down into the uterus to reposition at this point.

The problem was Ebony Blue was a small mare and we needed the person with the skinniest and longest arms to actually do it. Both Maeve and I were much too large and Faealyn was too weak due to her age and I could never put that much stress on her anyway.

I went over to where Merrill and Faealyn were standing and kneeled down so I could look directly at our daughter to give her the grim news.

"Sweetie, Ebony Blue is having a really bad problem. The baby is coming out the wrong way and we're not sure if we can get it out."

To her credit even though tears were rolling off her cheeks now she never once actually lost eye contact with me or sobbed. Which was more than I could say for poor Merrill at this point.

I continued, "Mommy Merrill is going to have to help us deliver the foal. I don't want to lie to you, this is very dangerous and both Ebony Blue and the baby might die." I had to swallow because I was getting a little overwhelmed myself. "If you want to stay here and watch you can but you need to decide because it will be very sad to watch if they don't make it."

Faealyn looked at the both of us before answering, "But you're going to try your best to save them right?"

I nodded.

"I know you and mommy can do it. You can do anything."

I finally started crying myself. It's hard to face the same child that you promised you would always protect and have to tell her you might let her down.

"I promise we are going to do our very, very best but sometimes the Mythal does things for reasons we don't know. We might not be able to save them sweetie."

That beautiful child actually smiled while tears were rolling one after the other and said, "Oh mommy, I know you can do it. I believe in you."

Nothing like a little pressure huh?

It was a long night and Merrill became more intimate with the inner workings of a horse than one would ever want to but she was able to reposition the legs correctly. I then took a small rope and gently tied the hooves together to prevent them from reversing back into horse.

Now the problem was with the mare having enough energy to push. It had been hours and she was exhausted. I was more worried about this part than the foal being breech to be honest.

Then something truly amazing happened. Without so much as a word of encouragement, Faealyn walk over to the where the mare's head was resting and started talking to her. She proceeded to tell her it was going to be ok and all she needed to do was be strong.

Faealyn then closed her eyes and laid her hands on the mare's body. Within about a minute, her hands became aglow in soft white light while simultaneously the horse began to breath deeper and started pushing again in earnest. As long as Faealyn kept her hands on the mare, she kept pushing as if labour had just started.

As the foal began to emerge, we were shocked in that even through the blood and placenta the foal's coat was stunningly white. Which would be unusual enough but its father was as dark as its mother. Needless to say, this was not what we were expecting.

For the next thirty minutes Faealyn kept her focus on the mare and not once did her hands leave the horse's body. Then with one last push out came the new foal.

Out of instinct Ebony Blue stood up to tend her newborn foal who was now trying to stand up on its own wobbly legs.

Only then, when the mare stood up, did Faealyn remove her hands. I noticed when she opened her eyes they were slightly aglow with the same colour that had been emanating from her hands.

It was true then, not only did we have a new baby foal in the family, we confirmed Merrill's and I had a wee Fae as a daughter.

An hour or so later Ebony had her new baby all cleaned up and it was clumsily kicking and frolicking full of life and joy. Every now and then it would walk over to Faealyn, who was still in the stall, and sniff her here and there. But as soon as Faealyn moved an inch it would kick and run as fast as it could and hide just far enough behind its mum where it was mostly hidden but still able to peek out at Faealyn.

Seeing her daughter play with the new foal Merrill said, "Ahhh…seeing that makes it all worth it."

Out of curiosity I asked, "Makes what all worth it?"

"You know….."

Looking at her even more confused now I replied, "What are you talking about?"

Blushing she said, "You know, sticking my arm all the way up a horse's….you know."

Maeve then says, "Come on Merrill, it's just us girls here and you do have the smallest hands after all. If it was you having the same problem you'd want the same consideration."

"If it was me?" Merrill asked incorrigibly and then continued, "If it was me I wouldn't have screwed a horse in the first place!"

Maeve and I laughed until our sides hurt.

The foal itself, did turn out to be white as powdered snow. At first we thought maybe it was an albino but it eyes were beatifically brown as the earth after a soaking rain. So somehow two black horses gave us a white filly. Mythal has such a strange sense of humour.

Maeve suddenly announced to Faealyn, "Well love, it's a wee girl. What are you going to name her?"

Before announcing it, Faealyn looked over at Merrill and me for one last assurance that we were indeed letting her name it.

After our nods of approval she said, "Sulais, Elven for "blessed light".

1 Month Later

The next four weeks went by blissfully and Sulais started growing into a fine filly. Just as I expected, Faealyn has become very attached to her and spends most of her downtime either grooming or playing with Sulais. Ebony Blue, bless her heart, does her best not to worry to much but the look on the poor mare's face when Faealyn and Sulais gets too rowdy is priceless.

Merrill is getting quite accomplished with her painting. She actually sold a few smaller ones to the pub down in the village. They were nice I have to admit plus she is ecstatic about bringing in few coin for the household.

The only problem is that she is constantly on the lookout for new objects or people to paint and thus she has been constantly chasing me around in a effort to get me to pose for her. Naturally I won't submit to it as I am a bit too modest to have anyone immortalize me in a painting. The fact that we already have two of me is amazing in itself so I hardly see why we need another.

Maeve has become a splendid teacher and Faealyn is learning at a quicker clip than ever now. They spend about three hours each day doing their lessons. That is about as long as we can keep Faealyn still for anyway so it works out.

That being said Faealyn is now pretty much up to date as most of peers in human history and culture. She also has a great head for reading and script but like Merrill does not like anything to do with the Chantry tradition or modern conventions. Who can blame them eh?

Maeve is also happy we haven't seen anymore Templars. Merrill and I try to use as little magic as possible as to not draw their attention.

We have been debating on whether or not to actually send someone to Starkhaven to investigate if Baron Kirk McGyles is still hunting for Maeve or not. As far as we know, he might be dead now. The problem is there is no one we trust enough to do it. However, Merrill suggested using one of the Dalish merchants from our local clan so who knows maybe we will once the snow melts and the roads and paths open up.

I'm, for the most part, as happy as I have ever been. Between Merrill and Faealyn I finally have the family that I have always longed for. However, I often find myself suddenly waking at night, in such a dreadful panic that my heart is exploding in my chest, wondering if maybe it's all a dream. Thankfully, once I collect myself and take a deep breath and notice the two cats lying on the bed and Merrill cutely snoring away like she always does cuddled right next to me I settle down.

Last week all of us went into Alva for the day to do some shopping and to have a hot cooked lunch at the pub. All was well and good when suddenly four tough looking mercenaries came stomping into the pub while we were eating.

Rowdy as can be, they sat down at the table right next to us and proceeded to loudly talk about the "Champion of Kirkwall". Needless to say, I almost had a heart attack right there and poor Merrill nearly spit out her drink when she heard them begin to talk about it.

They were apparently travelling through Kirkwall right when all hell broke loose concerning the Mage revolt against Meredith. They went on and on about how Kirkwall had been nearly destroyed and how some evil Mage blew up the Chantry and how the actual Champion of Kirkwall turned against the Templars instead of supporting her supposedly beloved city. It sounded all rather shocking to hear second hand to be honest.

They did go on to converse about how most of the Templars broke away from the Chantry to go after the Mages unabated. Apparently, the rank and file of the Templars were frustrated at the Chantry for exploring a peaceful solution that would result in the Mages not being exterminated. They also revealed that some mysterious group called the Seekers were now involved and were looking for both myself and Gallia, the Hero of Ferelden, who had also gone missing about the same time we did. It was all rather intriguing.

Thankfully, after their meal they left and never gave us a second thought. I suppose the four of us just looked like a bunch of hens out for a good cooked meal on a cold winter's day.

I have to admit I felt very anxious hearing the term "The Champion of Kirkwall" again. It's really amazing in that it's been less than a year since I left Kirkwall and the idea of that life gives me cold sweats. I just have no desire what-so-ever to ever go back to that life.

I wonder sometimes about paths not taken. If I had known this life I am living now would have made me so happy, maybe years ago I would have put away my staff and let someone else be the hero. But then I think about the good I actually did and how it brought Merrill and I together and things seem ok. I must just be getting older as there is very little left in me that feels compelled to be the hero anymore.

However, the weight of the Brood of Athula coming after Faealyn keeps us all on our toes. Even Maeve seems to be getting a bit twitchy about it. It's been so long since I had been attacked by the demon looking for Faealyn, that it would be easy to put it out of my mind. I kind of wish if they were going to make a move that they would do it sooner than later. I want this drama to be done and over with to be perfectly honest.

As so often with my life when I begin to itch for a fight one usually comes calling. So when we got the knock on our door about a week later I was hardly surprised. Little did I know then, what laid ahead of us would prove to be possibly the biggest battle of my life.

The day was like any other winter's day for us up here in our little love nest. Two feet of snow covered the ground, the wolves sang their lonely songs at night and a silent blanket of cold latched on to the land as if it feared the warm sun itself.

Merrill and I were sitting on the sofa in what we call "the den" by the fireplace. We were talking about going to visit the Dalish to ask them to construct a nice bridle for Sulais. Merrill had insisted that Faealyn ride bareback as it was the Elven way and we also assumed the Fae way, if they did indeed use mounts.

It was just about just when we heard a rather loud horse neighing close to our home. Immediately we both jumped to our feet and were armed within seconds.

I looked out the door and quite honestly did not expect what I saw.

On top of perhaps the largest, jet black horse I had ever seen was a magnificent women with skin as white as the snow that was gently falling upon her. Her hair was even whiter than that, if that is even possible but I swear it was. Both her almond shaped eyes and thick, luscious lips were black as coal yet at the same time hauntingly beautiful. The more I looked at her the more I realized how similar her facial structure was to Faealyn's. And although she was wearing a heavy hooded dusky cloak, I could tell her ears were extended and pointed even more so that Merrill's. Most anyone looking at her would be simply overwhelmed by her beauty. Heck, except for Merrill I couldn't remember seeing a more attractive woman.

Nevertheless, looking at her through the small windows in the front of our house, I knew she was trouble with a capital "T". No woman that attractive rides alone, giant horse or not. Which meant she was more than capable of taking care of herself.

She jumped off her mount, looked around and walked towards our front door. She sure wasn't trying to be subtle that's for sure.

She was shorter than I expected, a good head shorter than Merrill actually and that was even though she was wearing boots with such high heels, Isabela would be jealous. Matter-a-fact, I thought to myself at that moment, what a hot couple those two would make.

I looked over at Merrill and all she said was, in a wee bit of a defensive tone, "She is very pretty isn't she? Well that type of pretty you would see in the Blooming Rose anyway."

I quickly but gently kissed her on her cheek to reassure her that no one compared to her in my eyes.

By this time, thank goodness, Maeve had figured out something was going on and stepped into the room sword in hand. Faealyn thankfully was sound asleep upstairs.

Next thing we hear is a gentle knock on our door.

I then went over and opened the door wide enough for all three of us to have a good view of her.

Up close she was even more stunning but in that same way a tiger is stunningly beautiful right before it takes down a sweet, pretty fawn.

I was about to say something but she spoke first. Her voice although clear and very melodic, was icy and unnerving.

"Hello Amber Amell or should I just refer to you as the Champion of Kirkwall?"

All of us were a bit stunned that she actually knew who we really were. So stunned actually, that I couldn't reply fast enough before she continued on with perhaps the coldest and most adrenalin inducing sentence that I had ever heard.

"My name is Nesscius and I am here to take Faealyn back."

Looking at Nesscius's steely gaze there was no question in my mind that she was one hundred percent serious. I also could tell that she received the same impression from me as we both stood there in the doorway frozen, waiting for the other to make the first move. The tension was so thick it dripped thicker than honey.

When I battled Meredith she was crazed, mad and irrational. Nesscius wasn't. She was a seasoned predator planning my death as she coldly smiled and stared into my eyes. The starring game continued as neither of us backed down or flinched. Then without warning, like a graceful panther striking out of the darkness, she lunged for my throat.

As I bent backwards avoiding her grip, I felt her icy fingernails graze across my neck as they passed. I had just dodged my own death by fractions of a second.

Spinning on my back leg and using her own momentum, I grabbed her nearest arm and threw her into the house. She landed hard on a short wooden table that instantly collapsed and burst under her momentum but not losing a second, she managed to roll back to her feet while at the same time releasing a chain of electricity that knocked both Merrill and Maeve onto their backs. I had expected as much and was able to harmlessly deflect the lightning into the brickwork of our fireplace.

Not giving her time to reset, I sent a crushing blow of force right into her body sending her crashing into the opposite wall with a hard thud. When her body smashed into the wall, several shelves and hung art work disintegrated due to the tremendous impact. I had killed a full grown ogre with that spell and it had barely slowed her down.

I quickly noticed, out of the corner of my eye, that both Merrill and Maeve were still down so it was still just me and her. Though I could not but help worry about Merrill and Maeve which added to my already high stress level.

Next, from within her hands, a huge ball of blue fire formed and shot across towards me, luckily I had already set and cast a dispel magic charge and the turquoise flames dissipated into nothingness. I was very impressed to be honest, the power of her spells were probably stronger than mine, something I had never experienced before except from Flemeth and perhaps Corypheus.

Since I had just barely beat her to the punch with my dispelling charge, I had already cast my next spell before she could rearm herself. This time I sent all enveloping cocoon of crushing force that would have instantly reduced something as big as a horse into a pile of flesh as small as a cat. Unfortunately for me, it just managed to barely stun her. I was clearly in over my head with an adversary as powerful as Nesscius. I desperately needed Merrill to wake up and assist me. Though to be honest, I could tell by the surprise in her eyes, Nesscius's was clearly not expecting me to be as powerful as I was demonstrating myself to be.

Since I again had a wee bit of a jump on her, due to her underestimating me, I cast a ice storm within the house to not only to obstruct Nesscius's vision but perhaps the coldness would awaken Merrill or Maeve. But honestly, Maeve was better off unconscious as Nesscius could kill her with a simple wave of her hand.

It was Nesscius's turn to gain the upper hand now. Since my ice storm only clouded her vision and not caused her any pain, she took a deep breath, uttered a spell and brought her mighty staff down hard onto the floor. The resulting sonic explosion blew me clear across the room and nearly brought the whole house down upon us. The creaking and moaning of the beams were so obvious even Nesscius had to pay them some heed.

I had avoided smashing into the opposite wall, just. But in the effort it took me to save myself, Nesscius had enough time to cast an enormous bolt of spirit energy at me. This was her only mistake in the entire battle.

Over the years, I had attuned my body to spirit energy. Thus not only had I become immune to its harmful effects when used against me, I harnessed the ability to rechannel it back to the source but exponentially much more powerful. So when her massive blast hit me, it bounced back and exploded with such force it blew her through the side of the house out onto the snowy yard outside. The impact was so mighty, I actually heard her scream in abject pain. This revealed to me that I could hurt her which helped my confidence greatly.

The hole in the side of our house was at least four metres by four metres. I actually was worried about the house collapsing at this point. However, since I didn't have time to worry about that, I immediately charged out through the newly made, gaping hole towards Nesscius. She was waiting for me though and still had plenty of fight left.

As I charged her, she swung her staff at me sending bolt after bolt of both cold and electric energy into my chest. I flew back about ten feet landing ungracefully on my arse but had just been able to cast another dispel magic wave that caused her to temporally be defenceless.

While I was on my backside, I instantly cast a hex of horror that left her even more stunned and defenceless. Then I threw a both a crushing fist of power from above and cocoon of compressive energy again. Her screams were genuine now and I could hear her bones breaking.

Nearly completely stunned at this point, she was unable to do anything for a brief moment. So I instantly cast a spell that should have caused her body to explode from the inside out but instead she stood there and absorbed it.

This was really bad news. What I just had done to her would have killed a high dragon. The fact that she could take this much punishment boded really bad for us. I honestly wasn't sure if I could destroy her alone at this point, I really needed Merrill. With her blood magic we probably had a chance but me alone, I wasn't sure any longer.

As soon as I was back on my feet, Nesscius leapt at me, surprisingly, leaving her staff behind on the ground. She had terrifying feral look on her face, similar to the one Faealyn had when we first encountered her. She was beyond angry now, she was in animal mode.

For some reason I decided to fight "in kind" and we came together in the middle of the front garden armed with only our own bodies.

Due to her being nearly rabid in anger, I was able to outthink her at first and was able to quickly punch her in the side and chest but she instinctively, snapped her leg in a kick and her foot smashed into the side of my face sending me arse over tea kettle.

She was on me faster than I thought possible and from behind me she pummelled my kidneys so hard I fell to my knees. Her icy hands found their way around my neck and I began to quickly choke. Luckily, the way I had landed on my knees I was able to push up and forward and roll onto my side. However, she held on viciously and soon she had me pinned down on my back with her hands still around my throat.

As I had both arms free, I instinctively grabbed her hair with each hand and yanked her head back as hard as I could. If it had been anyone else it would have broken their neck but she was barely phased. But our positions were switched and I was on top of her now but instead of chocking her, I started to beat her face and head with all of my might. Soon brilliant streams of crimson began to erupt from her face and flow onto the white snow in radiant contrast.

I could tell by the way her eyes began to roll she was on the edge of consciousness which only spurned me on to hit her harder. I began to become aware of my fists hurting from the non-stop assault on my opponent.

Suddenly in a tiny corner of my mind I heard Merrill's voice and it was becoming louder. I quickly pivoted and placed my knee on Nesscius's throat to keep her pinned down as I looked for Merrill.

Eventually I was able to focus on Merrill running towards me. I could tell by the tone of her voice and the look on her face something was terribly wrong, though I was happy she was ok.

When she finally reached me, tears were streaming down her face like I had never seen before and she was sobbing so hard it was difficult to understand what she was saying.

When she finally got herself together long enough to speak she said, "Faealyn! They got her! The brood demons had got her and disappeared! They got our daughter!" And with that she fell to her knees crying as hard as she ever had.

I looked down at Nesscius, still pinned to the ground. She looked at us both, smiled through all the blood and flesh that had been her lips and teeth and simply vanished into nothingness.

"Ma sa'lath, what are we going to do?" Merrill asked between sobs.

"First, we get our daughter back and then I'm going to kill that bitch with my bare hands."

It took us about a week to fully repair the hole in the side of the house, but the hole in our souls was a different story.

Merrill tried her best to keep it together but it didn't take a genius to see how badly she was hurting. We were both feeding off of each other's negative emotions so it created a never-ending cycle of depression and anger. Luckily we both focused the negativity on Nesscius and not each other.

Maeve, bless her heart, did her best to keep our spirits up as well. She did most of the cooking and cleaning while Merrill and I repaired the remaining inside problems. It was heartbreaking to see all the love that was once the lower level of our house smashed to bits by the battle with Nesscius.

One time when Merrill came across the painting Faealyn had been working on the evening before we were attacked, she just lost it. It took me the better part of two days to get her calmed back down. She hadn't even been this worked up when Keeper Marethari died in a misplaced effort to save Merrill from a powerful demon.

Once the outer wall was repaired fully, in the side of the house, we decided to visit our local Dalish tribe and talk to their Keeper. We hoped that she would be able to give us some direction in where to look for Nesscius and the Horde demons in order to get Faealyn back. We also hoped to be able to convince some of the elven hunters to join us as I doubted the two of us would be able to successfully subdue Nesscius in her own lair.

And yes, just the "two of us" because we had to leave Maeve back at the house to not only take care the actual house during the brutal winter weather but our livestock needed attending as well. She did fight us on it as she really wanted to join us but between not trusting anyone else to take care of our place and the possibility of running into mercenaries hunting her down, it really was the best solution.

Due to the high snow levels it took us the whole day to reach the Dalish camp. Normally we got there in two hours!

Keeper Shimaro was waiting for was as soon as we dismounted from the horses.

She was odd even for a elf. She looked as old as the hills and never really seemed to be viewing just our plane of existence. It was if she saw both the Fade and the prime world at the same time. Back when she officiated our hand-fasting she had made many of the humans uncomfortable with her "other worldliness". But Faealyn absolutely adored her which made her ok in our books!

Her once blonde hair was now white with age but sometimes when the sun hit it just right it would show hints of what once must have been a stunning head of hair. Her face was deeply wrinkled and when she talked she sometimes had to purposely open her eyes as small folds of skin would cover her eyes if she smiled too broadly.

But when she approached us as we dismounted there was a seriousness to her that I had never seen before. Matter-a-fact, at first, I thought she was angry at us but it turned out she was just very concerned and had a very unusual surprise for us.

Before we could even say anything she asked, "How long have the had Faealyn?"

As soon as we explained to her what had happened we went to her hut to discuss our plan of attack. I was amazed at how warm and spacious it was within her hut. There must have been some magic involved because it really seemed to be bigger on the inside then physically possible from the outside. It was much warmer than one would expect as well; so warm both Merrill and I had to take off not only our coats but our outer layers of armour as well.

Keeper Shimaro went on to explain how she suspected Faealyn had been kidnapped by what she had "heard in the wind". Apparently the powers that be were very intrigued by the occurrence and were surprised that Nesscius had been defeated in direct combat. Though I had to point out to that even though I may have won the battle she had won the war. The Keeper's response to that was, "We shall see, shall we?"

Fortunately for us, the Keeper had been able to give us a general idea of where we might find Nesscius. But it was hard to reach in winter and the odds of us recuing Faealyn alone were slim at best. That being said, the fact that I had bested her once already and the fact that Merrill and I would literally fight until our last breath to get her back, greatly improved our odds if only in our own minds.

I hated to ask the Keeper at this point if she could possibly spare any of her hunters to assist us but she sadly shook her head in the negative. But she did say that she knew someone who could.

Merrill and I looked at each other in puzzlement when The Keeper went outside briefly and returned three people in tow. But not just any three people, three very amazing people. The first two in were our old elven friends from Kirkwall, Fenris and Orana! Then bring up the rear was my sweet cousin Charade Amell!

To say Merrill and I were both shocked and stunned is a huge understatement! Honest to goodness, we both simultaneously jumped to our feet and then squealed with abject joy, like two school girls receiving a surprise, glittery, bauble at the sight of our old companions. (I noticed The Keeper genuinely grinning at our reaction out of the corner of my eye.)

Poor Fenris, in all of his sulky, brooding and seriousness had never seen me act so "girly" and his eyes opened wide in amazement which sent both Merrill and me into a hysterics. It felt so good to laugh when we were so sad.

Let's see, how does one describe Fenris? Isabela once described him as a contradiction of "smouldering coldness". He certainly was smouldering alright and he could certainly can be brutally cold at time. But he is deeper than just this contradiction of traits.

He has feather soft, silver-white hair, big ,deep, green elven eyes, a svelte body one simply can't help but to drool over as well as a masculinely chiselled face. And although his facade appears youthful at first glance, there is a genuine sageness to it along with sincere concern for who he cares about, if you know where to find it.

He is one of those men who always seems to be angry at something but from him it is sincere and rightly although painfully earned. He was born into brutal slavery and just recently gained his freedom by killing his old master in a vicious battle that stretched from one side of Kirkwall to the other over a three day period; a battle that I proudly fought in by the way. Ever since then, we shared a closeness that only tested warriors know. We had both at times fought for each other's lives and we also furthered each other's destiny in our actions.

Other than Varric, he was one of the only men that I had ever really developed a close relationship with. He had even hinted at romantic intentions but when he found out that I was at one point dating both Isabela and Merrill he understood the situation which I have greatly respected him for. Most of the other men in my life that I had become friends with and then ended up having to spurn their romantic intentions, always got ugly about it but Fenris never once expressed any resentfulness.

Orana, actually came to be with us due the battle for Fenris's freedom. She is a sweet, little, blonde elf that had been born into slavery herself. Her family had been slaves for generations actually. She belonged to Fenris's old master and during the battle she witnessed most of her family viciously blood sacrificed by her cruel master and his cohorts. We freed her from slaver de facto when Fenris finally destroyed his old master.

However, since she had never known anything but a slave's life, for not only her but her whole extended family as well, she had an extremely hard time adjusting to her sudden freedom. So I hired her to work for me as a housekeeper and cook. I want to repeat, I hired her and gave her a good wage and a wonderful place to live in my mansion in Kirkwall.

I was very surprised to see her, as Merrill and I had left her enough gold to live out her entire life in relative comfort.

My cousin, Charade Amell, was my mother's niece and the daughter of my uncle Gamlen, who was instrumental in getting us into Kirkwall when we first arrived from our escape from the Blight in Ferelden. We had just learned of her existence a few days before we left Kirkwall to be honest, even my uncle didn't know she existed until I accidently discovered her while hunting down a bunch of thugs who had been trying to kill him.

Unlike my Uncle, Charade was one of the nicest people I had ever met. I actually saw a lot of my mother in her. She was very young and extremely beautiful to such an extent I had to get Isabela to promise me not to corrupt her, well not to corrupt her too bad anyway!

Although Merrill and I were obviously gutted about Faealyn, seeing some familiar faces did us a world of good. We all talked excitedly little children for at least an hour, even Fenris.

Apparently, Orana was not doing too good on her own emotionally and Fenris decided he would find us so she could try to live with us again. He first found Varric to verify where he had last see us. Then he went to the Dalish elves near Kirkwall and asked the new Keeper there to "listen" for us on this wind. The closest they could direct him was to the Dalish tribe here.

Keeper Shimaro not knowing if it was entirely safe to give up our location up to Fenris, had told the trio that they could stay at the camp until we showed up for a visit. And the rest, as they say, is history.

After catching up with the three of them and their lives, we told them about our current dire situation in trying to rescue our daughter Faealyn. And although Fenris had some trepidation about dealing with the Fae, he was very interested in helping defeat Nesscius due to her holding slaves.

Charade of course was willing to help but I was not sure about having her assiatnce due to her young age and "greenness" is battle. She then however informed me, when Varric returned to Kirkwall after leaving us, he taught her more advanced archery skills as well as improving her overall fighting skills. So now, she was not only a fabulous archer, she had also learned some important rogue skills, including familiarity with subterfuge and traps. Without having Isabela in our party now, her particular line of skills would actually be most helpful. So, I hesitantly agreed that she could join us in the rescue attempt, with the understanding that she must obey Fenris, Merrill, Maeve and me at all times in battle.

As we had discovered earlier, The Keeper had given us the general location of where she thought Nesscius was headquartered. It was west of our local village Alva, which meant we would have to pass by our house on the way there. So after talking to Orana we would leave her at the house and take Maeve with us to find Faealyn.

So as of now, there was five of us, consisting of Maeve, Fenris, Charade, Merrill and myself. In the past this would have satisfied me but I personally knew how powerful both Nesscius and the Brood demons were and I was still worried about not having enough manpower. We needed another fighter like Aveline or Isabela. But that being said, compared to what we started out with this morning, we are up nearly two-hundred percent!

Not wasting any time, we left the Dalish camp and went straight back to our house. After quick introductions, which I had to keep reminding Maeve not to stare at Fenris, we all went straight to bed. We wanted to leave the next day right at sunrise and since it probably would be the last comfortable night's sleep for some time, we wanted to appreciate every second of it.

And to our word we left the house as soon as the sun inched above the horizon. Orana seemed very happy to be working for us again and I had no doubts the house would be in good order when we got back. I was a bit worried about the chickens and pigs as Orana didn't seem that comfortable with them but she promised me she would do her best. Overall though, there was something very satisfying about having her back in our lives.

As intimidating as it was, we had to traverse all the way to Kal-Sharok. Keeper Shimaro indicated that we needed to find the Dalish tribe closest to Kal-Sharok. From there an Elven guide named, Tomuk would take us to the entrance to the deep roads that lead to Nesscius's lair.

I have to admit, I was confused as it seemed odd to me that if Faealyn had escaped from Nesscius how did she end up just twenty or so miles away from our house where we found her? There must be a opening closer to home but The Keeper insisted we needed to find Tomuk for other reasons that she would only elude to.

Because it was winter it would take us weeks to get our destination and I prayed to Mythal that Faealyn would last that long. If there any luck in the universe, Nesscius also had to traverse the same distance as we do, but I wasn't going to hold my breath.

The first week of the journey went without incident but during the second week we ran into an "old friend" and it was time for this "friend" to pay her dues for her dishonesty and betrayal a few years back.

We came upon a small village called Llynnwellen and right from the start it just didn't feel right. You know one of those places that no matter where we went people stared at us or deliberately went out of their way to avoid us. It just felt wrong.

The village itself only consisted of about ten small buildings and it actually did not appear on any of our maps so we assumed it was a fairy new establishment. But the buildings looked old and worn so again, there was just something not right.

The people in the village consisted mostly of humans but I noticed what I assumed was a big, scary Tal-Vashoth keeping an eye on us.

Basically, the Tal-Vashoth are individual Qunari who have left the Qun or rather their way of life. They are true outcasts to the Qunari culture and religion. (Qunari or Tal-Vashoth usually refers to the race of hominids called the Kossith. But for simplicity reasons, most people refer to this race as the Qunari but technically speaking, anyone regardless of race can be Qunari if they follow the way of life known as the Qun.)

An actual Qunari this far out of Par Vollen (their homeland) would probably be arrested due to their recent unprovoked attack on the sovereign city-state of Kirkwall. (I just happened to be the person who drove them out of the city by killing their military leader in one-on-one combat about four years ago.) However, there is a uneasy and non-spoken agreement that any Tal-Vashoth outside of Par Vollen are welcome as long as they stay out of trouble. Of course both the nobles and the Chantry are uneasy with this as any of them could easily be spies. However, due to the strict code in which the Qun live by, it is highly doubtful that a Qunari would be covertly a spy as they would admit it upfront due to their honour but there are always exceptions. It's all rather complicated and convoluted actually.

Regardless of his true background, the Tal-Vashoth continued to shadow us the entire time we were in the village. Fenris wanted to confront him but as we were not actually sure if there were more of them we erred on the side of caution.

Since it was so cold out we really wanted to stay at the inn but upon asking for a room we were told almost before we asked that there was no rooms available. Poor Fenris was about to lose his patience but between myself and Maeve we were able to keep him calmed down. But something was very wrong.

We quickly decided it would be best to leave the village as soon as possible so we gathered our horses and left. About a mile out of the village Charade used some of her rogue training and hid by the side of the path as we continued on another few miles and then set camp.

About two hours after we made camp, Charade reappeared and informed us that a small group of Tal-Vashoth were indeed following us and curiously a female, rogue elf was leading them.

Charade described her with dark-red hair, carrying very dangerous looking daggers and being fairly "curvy" for an elf. She also seemed to be the one in charge. As soon as she said that my blood ran cold and Merrill turned and looked at me in disbelief.

Could it possibly be Tallis?

The rest of our group stared at both Merrill and myself awaiting some explanation to our sudden overwhelming interest in the Elven rogue.

Oh how to explain Tallis?

As I stoked the camp fire I began to tell the amazing tale concerning our adventures with Tallis.

Tallis is a Qunari assassin who tricked me into helping her infiltrate an Orlesian Duke's estate in the guise of reclaiming a jewel supposedly owned by Ferelden nobility that The Duke had acquired through nefarious means.

In reality she used not only my title as the Champion of Kirkwall to get close to the Duke, she also used both Merrill's and Isabela's considerable skills to achieve her hidden agenda.

Tallis's hidden agenda just happened to be an attempt to stop a Qunari double agent from giving The Duke a list of all of the Qunari spies and "friendlies" in Ferelden and Orlais. Oh she claimed that she really wanted to save innocent lives by association but the truth was she knew if the Duke got his hands on that information the Qunari would be set back decades in intelligence.

However, The Duke in all of his arrogance did not know what he actually had in the list of names and carelessly let Tallis steal it from his very hands. Unfortunately, The Duke then attacked all of us forcing us to destroy him and a good portion of his personal army of chevaliers.

This pretty much made me personally an "enemy of the state" in Orlais and besmirched my family's noble heritage. It also may have helped instigate an all out war between Orlais and Ferelden that is about to erupt any day now if it hasn't already. It didn't do too much to promote Merrill's or Isabela's reputation either.

After the battle with The Duke, Tallis, completely unsympathetic to what she had forced upon me, refused to hand over the list and just barely escaped my wrath through subversion. I promised myself that day, if I ever had the chance again I would kill her where she stood.

As the tale came to an end everyone understood my anxiousness with the possibility of Tallis actually being here. But really? What where the odds?

Merrill gently scooted over next to me as the fire cracked and popped. She leaned on my shoulder and softly said, "Emma lath, you know I will support anything you do but is this really something you want to do? You have never actually killed someone out of revenge before. This is a new path for you and I can tell you that there is no going back once you go down it."

Feeling a bit ashamed of my thought process I took a deep breath before continuing.

"I know. I just… no I don't know. I am having such a hard time thinking clearly now. Nesscius I can handle. She is obviously evil but Tallis is just doing what she thinks it right. But the results of her actions are probably going to play into the genesis of many people dying in battle. I ask myself maybe this was her actual intention all along? Maybe she knew how it would end because a war between Ferelden and Orlais will only benefit the Qunari. I just have feeling that she manipulated all of us."

"Aye, I know lover but she actually never raised a sword to any of us. There are a lot of people out there who are rotten to the core but is that enough for them to die by your hand? If Aveline was here she would say that you were taking the law into your own hands again."

Laughing a bit to myself because I actually could hear Aveline saying that in my head I continued, "Aye, you are right, I won't go after her but if she comes after any of us that is something entirely different."

"Agreed." Merrill said as she softly kissed me on the cheek and snuggled even closer.

As the night went on I could not but help notice that our Maeve kept finding reasons to be close to Fenris. Both Merrill and I smiled at the situation because it warmed our hearts to see Maeve actually be interested in someone again and it humoured us that Fenris as intelligent as he is, is as thick as a brick when it comes to flirting and every time Maeve left the door open for him he fumbled with his replies. Mind you he wasn't as bad as Aveline was with Donnic but he wasn't that far off the mark.

I felt a bit sorry for Charade as she was obviously the odd person out but she kept busy pretending that she wasn't really paying attention for the inevitable sneak attack by the Qunari following us.

I had actually expected them to attack already but they were staying back for some reason. If it was indeed Tallis leading them she knew what both Merrill and I were capable of so she probably was waiting for the best time to make a move. On the other hand, she might actually be waiting to see if we just moved along as we were acting as if we were doing. One thing about Tallis, she was not one to risk a fight if it was avoidable as she fancied herself an odd sort of pacifist. Yea, I know, an "assassin pacifist", what will they think of next?

Our sincere hopes, of not having to confront our unseen, foreign followers, were sadly not to be.

Right as the first sunlight filtered through the snow covered pine trees, three Qunari warriors came crashing through the brush in attack formation. Unfortunately, for them both, Merrill and I had set magical wards around the campsite so almost as soon as their assault started they fell unconscious due to massive charge of natural energy that crushed down upon them.

Knowing the Qunari where not that obviously careless, I figured this initial charge was just a diversion so most of us weren't even looking at them when the rain of arrows came buzzing through the trees. But again, Merrill and I had anticipated this tactic and as soon as the arrows came within ten feet of us they slowed as if stuck in invisible glue and fell to the ground harmlessly. This time however, we did hear the Qunari swearing in frustration when the attack failed.

Now they simply moved out of the forest in a slow, determined march with weapons drawn knowing this battle was going to be settled hand-to-hand and at the head of them was the treacherous assassin that I personally owed a good old-fashion thrashing.

She must not have known who we were at this point because once she came within close sight of us all she awkwardly stopped in her tracks and her face quickly went ashen in fear.

"Hawke…" was all she could get out.

Hearing my name the other Qunari also stopped straight in their tracks and indecisiveness suddenly washed over their faces.

One of them gazed at Tallis and firmly asked, "This is the Hawke from Kirkwall?"

Tallis nodded in affirmation.

At that point all of the Qunari sheathed their weapons and stood by as if waiting for orders from Tallis and I knew precisely why.

When the Qunari had been in Kirkwall, I had earned the non-official title of "Basalit-an". It's a Qunari term loosely reserved for "a worthy" non-Qunari entity. It is used out of respect for those the Qunari deem basically worth at least listening to. But after I earned the title in their military leader's mind, the Arishok, I defeated him in one-on-one battle which earned me another notch of respect in the Qunari mentality. This meant they would not just indiscriminately attack me even if Tallis ordered them to do so. There had to be a valid reason.

This put us all in a tenuous position. Clearly they wanted us dead but they also needed a more compelling reason to kill us other than just our existence.

Clearing my throat and placing Malcolm's Honour back in her sheath on my back, in a non-threatening position, I calmly asked, "Tallis. Why in the world are you trying to kill us and furthermore, what the hell are you doing out in this gods forsaken place in the middle of winter?"

Still a bit shaken by the unexpected turn of events she replied, "I didn't know it was you, we thought you all were a wicked mercenary squad that came through here a few days ago."

Initially, I wasn't going to trust a word she said, but due to the cute sound Merrill makes when she is curious about something bouncing around in my ears, I decided to at least entertain Tallis's excuse.

"Mercenary group? How many of them were they and what did they look like?" I asked.

"There was five or six, one dark haired Elf woman, three or four very spooky looking men and one child or adolescent."

With my heart beating so fast now it was thundering in my head, I quickly replied with another question, "Please, think really hard on this. Was the child dark-haired and did she appear Elven as well?"

She nodded in affirmation and then I felt as if I had been punched hard in the stomach and I went weak in the knees. Fenris actually grabbed me by the arms to hold me steady. Tallis and her group had seen Faealyn and Nesscius as they passed through and the thought of our daughter being held by these horrific beings hit me way too hard.

I was surprised to see a look of concern briefly flash across Tallis's face when I became unsteady. The morning was turning out to be full of surprises.

Trying to keep the emotional wobble out of my voice, I tried to speak to Tallis again but between my own emotions and psychically picking up on Merrill's again, I simply couldn't get myself together enough to do so.

Fenris spoke for me and in Qunlat so all of the Qunari would understand clearly.

"The mercenaries you are referring to are not in fact mercenaries. Their leader is a…well… let's just say she is an evil and extremely powerful mage working with demons . Her name is Nesscius. The men are actually demons in human form and the child is Merrill's and Hawke's adopted daughter. Not long ago they kidnapped her and are trying to escape with her so they can use her in some reprehensible, blood ritual. We are tracking them back to their hidden lair and this is the first time we have been able to confirm that Faealyn (their daughter) is still even alive, so I hope you can understand Hawke's vulnerable state at the moment."

This time the look on Tallis's face was very genuine and concerned. She walked back to the other Qunari and quietly spoke to them briefly and returned to us.

"Hawke, I don't know if you will believe me or not but we want to help you. When they came through the village they killed several Qunari including a few children. When we saw Merrill from afar with her dark hair and pale skin we thought that they had retuned and followed you out here. When we attacked them initially, they defeated us soundly but as I am sure you know, we were honour bound to seek revenge."

Looking at Fenris, who was an expert in dealing with Qunari, I asked for his opinion on the situation and he convinced me they were telling the truth.

"Tallis, you know I don't trust you but I do trust Fenris and I know the Qunari don't lie so…we would honour your request to join our mission. We are going to need it."

Tallis thought for a moment and replied, "Obviously we need your help as well but there has to be one condition."

"And that is?"

"Don't ask us what we are doing here. All I can tell you is that we are not actively working against anyone but we are doing something we would like to keep to ourselves. If you can live with this we would be honoured to join your party and of course follow your lead." She answered as sincerely that she could muster.

I didn't trust her at all and to be honest if it had been any other situation I would have probably killed her by this point but we needed her help. I knew firsthand how powerful not only Nesscius was but her demon helpers as well. Unfortunately, we needed all the help we could get so I begrudgingly agreed with a quick nod. But in doing so I looked her right in the eye letting her know that I still needed to settle my old grudge with her. There was a look of sad resignation in her face as she stared back. We both knew that after Faealyn was rescued, one of us was going to end the other.

Between our group of five and Tallis's group of eight we now numbered thirteen. And of that thirteen, there were seven, hardcore, fully trained actual Qunari warrior class fighters. This was something that I am sure Nesscius was not planning on. I have to admit thinking of Nesscius seeing them come down on her little lair brought a smile to my face.

I must also admit, although our group was much larger now we were moving actually faster and within three days we came to the outskirts of the Dalish Camp we were supposed to meet up with.

Along the way Fenris had endeared himself to the Qunari warriors and spent much time debating training methods and even telling jokes with them. It was the first time any of us non-Qunari and ever heard them actually laugh and for that matter I think it was the first time I ever heard Fenris laugh! I think Merrill was trying to take down notes copying what jokes they were saying for later study. Though poor Maeve felt left out during these times but every night, as if was a natural process, Fenris made his way back to her and in doing so a wave of delight would wash over her entire being.

The new shared connection between them and the almost uncanny reasons they found to touch each other throughout the night warmed both Merrill's and my heart. There was definitely something real between them now, innocent and naïve, but definite.

It never ceases to amaze me how these types of things always find a way to happen. Even while we are submerged in this terrible cloud of misery, love finds a way. Three weeks ago, these two souls had no idea the other even existed and now, in Maeve's eyes at least, it was as if Fenris was the only person that existed of any importance.

It all reminded me so very much of when I first met Merrill.

I owed the infamous witch, Flemeth, the courtesy of delivering a magical locket to the Dalish Keeper near Kirkwall. In doing so, the Keeper asked me to escort Merrill to Kirkwall. At the time I didn't know why but I agreed because I wanted to complete my debt to Flemeth.

At the time, Merrill was doing some exploring a short distance away, so my companions and I were sent to fetch her.

As I was walking up a gentle mountain trail to look for Merrill, I discovered sitting on a stump with her back to us, a petite, ebony-haired, Elven woman. Wanting to finish my task and get back home, I wasted no time and walked right up to her to find out if this mystery woman was indeed Merrill. (Though between you and me, I was drawn to her like a moth to a roaring flame anyway. So even if I hadn't been looking for someone I would have still introduced myself.) I could tell by the energy in the air and by how she was moving her arms in front of her, that she was casting a spell. Which of course meant she was also a Mage.

Since I was with my companions, one of them being my clumsy brother Carver, she easily heard us approaching and quickly stopped casting her spells but not before I noticed that she was healing a small bird that had apparently fallen out of its nest.

Her face was still looking down when I softly asked her who she was. Miraculously, when she looked up at me and her sweet, liquid-emerald eyes on fell upon mine…well… I knew then and there she was "the one" and amazingly so did she. From that very moment on it was if the rest of the world was just noise and the only thing that we could truly focus on was each other. I see that look on Maeve's face now and only hope that one day Fenris will feel the same.

Since it was now nearly dark we decided to make camp and meet the Dalish in the morning. As Merrill and I were getting our tent ready to set up, Charade came over and helped us. She is such a sweet girl and was always willing to help almost anyone in need. Which is a rare trait from someone who has had the hard life she has. I could tell though something was on her mind so I politely asked her if there was anything she wanted to talk about.

I could tell by the look on her face and by her body language that some sort of internal struggle was keeping her from answering. Then just as calmly as you like, she centred herself and eventually spoke up.

"Please don't take this wrong but… you know I've been talking to my father more and more since you left trying to get to know him better and of course he tries to make himself sound important by expressing his strong opinions on you, specifically you and Merrill's relationship being "unnatural". Between Merrill not being human and of course her being a woman as well, he just goes on and on comparing you to your mother when she married an Apostate. Of course, I think you two are beautiful together but I just don't know how to get him to shut up about it. I've talked until I was blue in the face?"

"Ohh!" Merrill sounded off, "I didn't know humans would turn blue if they talked too much? You would think Isabela would be as blue as a whale now!"

Looking confused for a moment Charade giggled to herself and continued, "I guess what I really am wondering is if there is anything you know of that I can do to get him to stop going on about it?"

I was about to say something when Merrill quickly answered, "Aye, smack the bugger right in the mouth with a stick." Then she innocently looked at me and asked, "Right?"

It took us about two hours to reach the Dalish camp. However, just Merrill, Fenris and myself made the trip to the camp. We felt arriving unannounced with several Qunari in tow might put them a wee bit on edge. So, as Merrill and Fenris were Elves and I was Faealyn's other mum and about as close to being Elven as a human could be, we felt it was best for us to make introductions.

A few hunters met us at the entrance but they seemed to be expecting us so we had little trouble getting through and I for one was really impressed with the number of Elves at this camp, there was at least triple what I had first seen at Merrill's camp all those years ago. It was practically an Elven city with real stone buildings. Even Merrill and Fenris seemed in awe of the situation.

The Keeper of this camp was named Bedywr and he met us soon after we entered the gates.

He was an older Elf as far as I could tell well over a hundred years old. I remember there was a reverence surrounding Keep Marethari in Kirkwall but with this Keeper it was tenfold. "Deeply mystical" are about the best words one could use to describe him. However, he loved to laugh and joke so soon he had us all relaxed and at ease in no time.

He had a quaint little hut that was just that much too small for all of us but we made it work as we found pillows in the floor to sit on. Merrill pretty much ended up on my lap which didn't bother either of us to be honest.

There were stacks of books and papers stereotypically stacked willy-nilly here and there along with a menagerie of different magical devices hanging on the walls and the odd enchanted staff leaning in a corner. Incense and different coloured smoke hung in the air and exotic scents permeated our sense of smell.

"So.." Keeper Bedwyr started, "You are here to rescue your daughter?"

"Yes Keeper." Merrill answered.

Twitching his nose and then gently pulling on his slight, grey beard with one hand, The Keeper replied, "So tell me how this all came to be and please, it's very important to be as honest as possible.

Merrill and I took turns relaying the events of our lives since finding Faealyn. The Keeper attention dutifully hung on our every word as expected but to our surprise Fenris also seemed very interested in Faealyn.

After listening to our story The Keeper thought to himself for a moment then spoke.

"It would seem you have indeed a Child of the Forest for a daughter. You must understand that forces greater than us all are at work here. That being said, it is of the best interest for everyone that Nesscius does not end up with your daughter and not only because she plans to eventually kill her."

Merrill jumped straight up and we both simultaneously shouted, "KILL HER!?"

"Please understand your daughter's death is not personal. Nesscius needs her for some type of blood sacrifice. I am not sure if I am the best person to tell you more."

We all looked at The Keeper in a bit of confusion but he continued.

"I think its time I introduced you to your guide Tomuk. He is best suited to help you."

With that a darkly hooded figure entered The Keepers small hut.

The hooded figured was just under six feet tall but thin. As it approached us there was a familiarity in his or her gait. There was also an almost arrogantly confident assuredness in its movement. Whoever it was, he or she had a strong opinion about themselves.

The Keeper suddenly spoke to the hooded figure in a language that I had never heard before. It was almost musical in nature and sometimes I thought I could hear similarities with Elven.

The Keeper then turned to us and said, "This is Tomuk. He has agreed to help you find Faealyn."

It was not lost on me or Merrill that he said "find Faealyn" as opposed to "save Faealyn".

The hooded figure turned to us and removed his deep, brown cloak.

Underneath stood perhaps the most chiselled, handsome face I have ever seen. His large eyes, while deep-set and brown as wet soil, exhibited some odd reflective nature that appeared to give them a slight dark-green glow. Surprisingly, when he blinked, his eyes almost seemed to disappear altogether from his face. It reminded me of some clever adaptation a wild animal might use to confuse a perilous predator.

His velvety long, deep-auburn hair, intertwined with streaks of lighter russets and tans, perfectly framed his impossibly smooth, tanned face. What little skin of his that was exposed had that perfect brown shade that can only be attained from years of exposure to just the right amount of sun.

He wore the most beautiful set of metal armour I have ever seen. I could not hazard a guess to what metal it was as I am sure I have never seen its like before. It was if ironwood was actually iron. It again had tones of brown and other dark autumn colours and was clearly made to fit his stout body like a glove. Where there wasn't armour there was complimentary leather the same colour and texture as the armour.

Each section of armour ended in a pattern that resembled the edge of a beautiful fall leaf. The raised lines and edges on the armour's surface gave the illusion of the spidery veins one sees in thick summer foliage. Though when he moved his armour was perfectly quiet as if he was wearing nothing at all.

All-in-all he was breath taking. As much as Fenris was masculine, Tomuk was manly. One might think there isn't a difference. Fenris was a prime example of a man but Tomuk was could be an actual model masculinity was formed from. Even though, both Merrill and I are only attracted to women physically, we were taken aback by the raw manly energy that was emitted from Tomuk. He is a fine specimen to behold for sure. However, while I was thinking that very thought, something came to me. Tomuk wasn't an Elven man! He was a full blooded Fae which explains his natural animal magnetism! It also possibly explained why he was interested in helping us with Faealyn and Nesscius.

After peering at both Merrill and me as if he was looking for something buried deep inside, Tomuk finally spoke. His voice was as smooth as his perfect skin. When he talked it was beautiful but amazingly as soon as he stopped talking I struggled to remember what is voice actually sounded like.

"I am willing to help you regain your daughter under a few conditions and please, don't kid yourselves it will be nigh impossible for you to find her without my help. I am also not going to capitulate on my demands so please don't ask."

I could tell my his body language that Fenris did not like Tomuk so I made a point to speak before he could.

"What are your conditions?" I asked.

Not batting an eye or hesitating a second he answered, "First and foremost, if Nesscius is to die it must be by my hand and second, as you have already deduced I am a full blooded Fae as well. As you might have surmised our population is very small and it is my duty to protect not only our species but also our culture and ways. When you daughter begins her moon time, I would like her to come with me to the Fae plane of existence and study for three months every year until she is at least eighteen."

Looking at him square in the eye, which I could tell by his body language he wasn't used to I answered, "As much as I would personally like to take Nesscius out I think we can agree on letting you do so. I have one question though, why?"

For an instant a quick flash of sadness appeared on Tomuk's face. It was faster than it takes to blink an eye but it was there, so I knew there was something very important about Nesscius that compelled him to help us.

"She was once my wife." Tomuk said as indifferently as he could muster but I could hear the pain behind his words. So instead of pressing him for more on Nesscius I moved on to my second concern.

"I hope you can understand this but in the short time Faealyn has been with us she has changed our world for the better. We love her more than we can actually articulate and are obviously willing to move mountains for her if we have to. So I hope you understand we just can't let her go with some strange man who we don't know from Fen'harel. We have no idea if you are telling us the truth nor do we have anyway of verifying you are telling the truth. That being said, if you would perhaps let one or the both of us go with you the first time just to verify what you are saying it true and to make sure she is indeed safe then we can probably work something out."

I knew I was taking a risk being so firm with him at this point because we did need him to help us but in good conscious Merrill or I just couldn't agree to his terms unless we knew Faealyn was going to be safe.

Tomuk looked back at me and without a second of hesitation said, "Agreed."

After that we all briefly talked about the logistics of the upcoming journey to Nesscius's lair and some other mostly inconsequential stuff. Then we agreed to meet the next day as sunup to leave.

The three of us then went back to where we had left the rest of our party and brought them back to the Elven camp to spend the night. There was just enough space so that all of us could actually sleep indoors or at least off the snow which would leave us better rested for what was going to probably be a hard stretch of fairly sleepless days and nights ahead.

That night before we went to bed we explained to Maeve, Tallis, Charade and the Qunari the gist of our meeting with the Keeper and Tomuk. I was a little concerned as Tallis seemed to be a bit overly interested in Tomuk, so much to the extent that I questioned my judgement in allowing her and the Qunari to accompany us on this journey. I could tell by the look in both Merrill's and Fenris's face that they did as well.

Apparently, the next few days are going to be tenuous at best.

Later on in our small guest hut Merrill seemed distracted. Of course this compelled me to ask her what was wrong.

Scooting over to her in our shared bedroll I put my free arm around her delicate waist and pulled her closer to me. When her warm, amazingly soft, bare skin came into contact with mine a surge of both familiar comfort and sensual awakening pulsed through every inch of my body. I nearly shuddered with anticipation.

I kissed the top of one of her now hot ears and whispered, "Ma sa'lath, please tell me what is wrong?"

Slowly rotating to face me, the sight of her bare breasts caused me to tremble and take a quick breath to steady myself.

Slowly one of her hands tenderly caressed the side of face and neck which drew a soft sigh from my lips.

"I'm worried about our daughter and I'm worried about Tallis and I worried about Tomuk and I'm worri…."

She was unable to continue as my index finger was slowly and very gingerly encircling one of her tiny, raised rose coloured nipple. With each circle her breath increased a bit while at the same time the stress that had been on her face began to fade.

Gracefully, as I could manage, I cupped the back of her head and pulled her face closer and began to kiss her. At first, it was soft and almost cordial but soon we were kissing hungrily and deeply as only lovers who know each other beyond intimately can.

As her natural Elven scents began to permeate my psyche and her soft little moans and sighs began to flood my ears, I found my raw desires for her increasing faster than I could sate it. I don't know why it seemed more intense now but I was definitely more intensely charged than I normally was at this point.

As were kissing I felt Merrill's petite hand gently come to rest low on my stomach just slightly above my sex and my body reacted without thought and I slightly rolled over to allow her hand easier access to its desired intention.

Her hand slowly teased my sex my just barely caressing it here and there in such a way I wasn't always sure she was touching me or it was just my desire imagining it. A soft gasp left my throat as I ached for her to continue.

As if on cue, her lips moved to my neck and she nibbled and gently kissed me while occasionally her tongue would dart in ant out and its hot, wet presence filled me with electricity.

Soon her hand on my now aching sex and her mouth on my neck and face soon found a matching rhythm and my senses were nearly overwhelmed so when her thumb started to tenderly roll my now supersensitive pearl I ached my back and let out a rather loud moan that actually made Merrill blush a bit. But she could tell by the look in my eyes I needed her to continue and without missing a beat she carried on as before.

Between her mouth on my neck, her hand on my throbbing sex and her hair tickling my bare skin as she kissed me I a force began to build up deep inside. It was a small fire deep, deep in my abdomen and it began to gently swirl like the first ebbing of a tempest.

As Merrill continued her mouth moved down to my breasts and her pert, little tongue flicked and teased both of my nipples in term while a few of her fingers began to part sex and inch their way into me. The combination of her thumb still rolling my pearl and her fingers finding their way into me was beginning to affect my breathing as it became more ragged and haggard.

The small ebbing of a tempest in my stomach was now twirling faster and faster and it was pushing its way up while at the same time its tendrils were reaching out all over my torso. My body was no longer my own but just a extension of Merrill's desires.

Then suddenly Merrill's hand left my sex and her mouth left my body filling me with disappointment but before I could open my eyes or utter a word of complaint I felt Merrill's hot mouth find its way onto my sex and the sudden sensation of her warm, mouth and firm tongue teasing several spots at once was nearly too much too fast.

I felt the rush of the tempest rise faster that I was prepared for and I had to fight to keep up from surfacing before I was prepared. My hands reached out for something to hold on to and they were soon squeezing on tight to anything they could find. My back arched and my breath was hard to find and the lack of oxygen was causing me to be a bit dizzy.

I was about to ask Merrill to slow down bit but when her fingers again found my sex and slowly entered it while her hot mouth nibbled and teased my pearl the now raging tempest smashed through my body and wave after wave of ecstasy pushed through my body it was all I could do to stay conscious. My body was writhing and twisting and pulsating beyond my control yet Merrill did not yield.

Her mouth and hand worked deeper and faster and I couldn't keep up and soon moans on submission and pleasure were filling the hut. I was nearly at the point of pain when she finally relented. Even after she stopped my body was still convulsing and pulsating with pleasure and I had to work for many minutes to get my breath back to a normal controlled rate.

As I slowly recovered Merrill laid besides me and gently put my head on her chest and shoulder while I came down. She stroked my hair and sang a soft Elven lullaby to help me regain myself.

Eventually I began to breathe easier and could actually focus on my own thoughts. This psychic connection we had obviously had some side effects we weren't always prepared for!

Once she felt I was ok, she looked at me and said as sweetly as she could, "So, my turn now?"

All I could do was gently laugh as I began to kiss my vhenen'ara.

The next morning came all too soon and our ragtag group left the Elven camp on our quest to free Faealyn. If we had known the nightmare we would soon face, perhaps things could have been different. Looking back though I think it was just one of those circumstances that fate ordained had to be. We would all be tested and we would all have to decide what we truly held as sacred. And things would never be the same for any of us…those of us who lived that is.

Tomuk rode ahead of our main group which made sense as he was the only one who knew where we were going. He rode a beautiful grey dappled steed. It was one of the finest looking horses I had ever seen.

I observed that Tomuk never actually used the reins, it was if the horse knew where it was going or perhaps it was linked to Tomuk psychically, either way they were a magnificent duo to behold.

We rode on for two days due north and unfortunately due to our northerly course the weather became colder and tougher. By the second day we were only able to travel about ten miles due to the increasing snow depth.

That night at camp Tomuk told us we only had about a half day's ride the next day. So everyone prepared their weapons and supplies for action. Merrill, Charade and I created a small, hidden stash to keep our non-combat gear concealed as Tomuk also told us that we would be attacked immediately upon entering her lair. After hearing that little morsel I asked Tomuk to brief us all together on what we might expect.

Once everyone was gathered around the camp fire, Tomuk stood and began to speak. Between his marvellously smooth voice and enrapturing charisma it was no chore to listen to him speak.

"You have to remember that we are actually infiltrating two separate lairs. We of course have to deal with Nesscius's lair but we have to pass through Athula's lair to get to hers and before you ask there is no way around this, it is by design.

Athula's lair is full of about every demon and undead creature you can think of and they are all very magically inclined. They will attack from the flank and from above and from below. You also have to remember that everyone here except for maybe Maeve and Charade has a reputation in the underworld. They know how you fight and they know your weaknesses so you will have to be on your toes at all time. There is going to be very little room for mistakes."

Briefly clearing his throat he then continued, "If we get through Athula's lair we still have to get to the central throne room in Nesscius's keep to get Faealyn back."

Interrupting Tomuk, Fenris asked, "How do you know she will be in the throne room?"

Again a weird uncomfortable look crossed Tomuk's face before he answered, "Although Nesscius is completely psychotic, she is also very intelligent. She knows we are coming and she will be there waiting for us as her base of power is in her throne room."

"Base of power?" I asked.

"I can't divulge too much information but remember she is Fae. Which means that she gets her power not only from the fabric of nature but from a window into the Fae realm that permanently resides in her throne room. Please remember, I am both honourably and duty bound to protect Fae secrets but I can tell you that this pipeline into the Fae realm is a geological feature that she will tap into to keep her power level almost continuously fully charged.

Luckily for us, I will also be able to use this source of power but you can be most assured that she will have a formidable force protecting her and some of these creatures will be like nothing you have ever seen before. So be prepared as this will be like no other battle you have ever fought."

"Is there any specific tactics that you would recommend we use against her?" Fenris asked.

"Nesscius isn't someone who excels and hand-to-hand combat as her magic is more attuned to battlefield situations where she affects large groups of enemies over large geographical areas so I would suggest that just a few of us address her directly and the rest of you protect us from the creatures she will have surrounded herself with." Tomuk replied.

We all then spent another hour or two discussing more tactics and strategies before heading off to our very cold tents. To be honest though, none of us really slept that night as an overwhelming sense of dread and trepidation seemed to envelope us all.

For the first time in my life I was actually a bit scared of what was to come. I faced not only losing my daughter but wife as well. I also remembered by previous one-on-one battle with Nesscius which ended as a draw at best.

The next morning came all too fast and a strange silence blanketed the land. It was if the earth itself was holding its breath in anticipation.

Due to Tomuk revealing the next part of our journey would be too treacherous and steep for our mounts, we had to leave them at the campsite with Charade to tend to them.

We really could have used her bow in our attack but I needed to leave somebody I trusted behind in case we failed. She would be able to make it back to our house and tell Orana what had became of us and help her execute our will.

Merrill and I decided to give mostly everything to Charade if we died. If she didn't want the property she could sell it or perhaps let it out. We also set aside a portion of our gold for Orana, Carver and Uncle Gamlen. Lastly we instructed a large lump sum of gold to be given to our local Dalish tribe.

Charade was a little hurt that we asked her to stay at camp but I think she understood how important it was for her to guard the horses and, if needed, make it back to our place.

True to his instructions we came upon a extremely narrow and steep path that went down into a small canyon. In all honesty is probably wasn't half a mile but between the snow and steepness it took us the better part of two hours to finally make it all the way down.

We found ourselves at the base of a solid wall of rock. After Tomuk cleared some snow off of the base we noticed various symbols on the ground in front of the rock wall. I never would have expected they were even there and quite honestly I don't even think the most experienced, underground born Dwarf would have even been aware they were there either.

Tomuk then pulled out a old piece of parchment and placed it over the strange markings. Once there, it was clear the parchment was an overlay that formed even more strange symbols.

Then Tomuk pulled out a small vile and poured it's crimson contents over the parchment but the liquid evaporated into smoke as soon as it dripped from the vile but for some reason the symbols on the parchment began to move and change yet again. This time, however, once they were done changing Tomuk sang a few words and an opening appeared in the rock wall.

Turning around and looking at us he said, "Last chance to go help Charade with the horses?"

I couldn't believe it but I think he was actually trying to be funny in a morbid sort of way. My suspicions were confirmed when I noticed everyone else had a look of disbelief on their faces as well. Well, what do you know?

As soon as the last one of us past through the opening, it instantly reverted back to stone. There was no going back now, though the continuing feeling of dread that Faealyn might be suffering propelled me onward as fast as I could go.

We went down a narrow, dark, rocky path for the better part of three hours without consequence but it finally opened up into a larger and much more intimidating cavern.

Immediately in front of us was a pool of something to this day I have no idea of what it was other then it being putrid, gooey and black as liquid coal. A few of the Qunari poked their weapons in it to check the depth which turned out to be too deep to wade across not that I would put any of my body in it anyway.

We talked amongst ourselves trying to devise a plan to get across when Merrill decided she wanted to try something. She walked up and down the shore of the liquid as if she was searching for something. Eventually she stopped and studied the surface of the pool for a few minutes.

She then turn and spoke to us, "I think I have a solution but I don't know how long it will last so be ready to run when I give the order."

We all nodded in agreement but I was a bit worried in what she was trying to do but before I could voice my opinion Merrill brought her dagger down across her hand causing the gushing blood to fall into the black pool. She then waved her magical staff, "The Final Thought" and a soft rumbling in the ground began.

The rumbling became greater until it was almost hard to remain standing but at that point I knew what she was doing.

It seemed as though certain sections under the liquid was beginning to rise but after further inspection what was really happening was the actual ground underneath the pool was rising in sections until eventually a crude earthen path rose from the edge of the pool to the far side.

The new path was just wide enough for us walk single file to the other side and as soon as she signalled everyone ran as fast as they cold for the other side. Well, everyone but me, I wasn't going to go without her.

"Go emma lath!" Merrill said while still waving her staff to keep the spell active.

"Don't bother love, I'm not going until you do." I answered.

Looking at me with a soft smile she stopped the spell and starting run down the path with me on her heels.

As we ran down the path the ground was sinking back into the pool as fast as we could run. We were about sixty feet from the far edge when it became apparent that we were not going to be able to run fast enough to make it before we fell into the goo.

I had an idea but wasn't sure if it would actually work but I had to take the chance as it was better than getting swallowed into the putrid, black liquid beneath our feet.

I suddenly shouted to Merrill, "Get ready to jump on my mark!"

Not waiting for her to answer I cast a spell in full stride.

Out of my staff a pillar of blue ice hit the black liquid that had now as separated from the others. Still running full blast we were now ankle deep in liquid but we trudged on as fast as we could, still at least forty feet from the edge.

Then suddenly I yelled at the top of my lungs, "Dive for the other side!"

Trusting me fully, Merrill jumped headfirst as if she was trying to fly to the other side.

As we both fell forward, a wave of black ice came up at met us midair at such a perfect angle when we landed, between our momentum from running and the slickness of the black ice I had created beneath us, we both easily slid all the way to our goal coming to a slow halt on safe dry ground, albeit on our arses now from not being able to control our slippery decent.

Maeve and Fenris helped back to our feet as gracefully as we could make it.

Tallis looked at us and said, "Well it wasn't the most graceful thing I've ever seen but you get points for ingenuity."

Merrill looked over at me then at Tallis and said in all genuineness, "Oh! I didn't know we were getting points!? Did we win some sort of prize?"


	2. Update 28

Once we had managed to get ourselves sorted from our trek across the black lake, we had to come up with a sound and strategic way to enter Athula's keep.

It was a small, castle like structure built out of brick and carved directly into the existing cavern stone. I was not sure how it was being generated but a blue light was providing enough brightness to view the entire keep.

We sent a few of the Qunari out in each direction surrounding the keep in hopes of finding a smarter way in than actually barging through the front door. Though if Tomuk was right, they knew we were here already and no matter what we did they would be most likely ready for us.

About twenty minutes later both groups of Qunari returned. These was no way around the keep, just as Tomuk said as it was as wide as the cavern. However, one of the more experienced Qunari rogues cleverly discovered a hidden entrance while he had been heeding the call of nature of all things.

He explained it was a small entryway probably designed as either a fire escape or a hidden way out if the keep actually was actually overrun. Tomuk then informed us that it had not always been Athula's keep so it was possible that even he wasn't aware it was there.

The Qunari also described that it was not especially well locked or sealed with any magic as far as they could tell.

So either Athula wanted us to go in that way or he wasn't aware of it. Now the question became which path should we choose.

Our party now consisted of Tallis, Tomuk, Fenris, Maeve, Merrill, myself and seven Qunari warriors, putting us at thirteen altogether. So I suggested we actually split up because that way we would not only have a better chance of surprising them but if something happened to one of our parties the other could still possibly slip through and get to Nesscius's lair.

However, splitting the party up and leaving us with the best odds to actually get in would mean that Merrill and I would have to be separated. It would make no strategic sense to keep both of us in the same group.

If we were split, both groups would have a Mage and in the same logic if Athula or even Nesscius was looking for us both having us split up would make things harder on them as well. However that left us with one glaring dilemma.

According to the Keeper at our hand-fasting, if one of us was to die the other would soon die as well as our souls were inseparably linked and that would defeat the logic of having us apart. So possibly if we stayed in the same group, we ultimately might be better off working as combined forces as opposed to two separate Mages .

Sadly for me though, examining our power structure, it was obvious that it would be best if we separated at least until we fought through Athula's keep. Therefore we formed two parties.

That being said, there was no way in hell I was going to let Merrill go anywhere with anyone I didn't trust other then the Qunari warriors who I was mostly sure wouldn't betray me, at least not at this point.

As I trusted both Fenris and Maeve with my life, I knew I could count on them protecting Merrill. (Plus, at this point, there was no way I was going to be able to split them up as I caught the two of them holding each other's hand a few times last night.) This meant, Merrill's group consisted of Fenris, Maeve, four Qunari fighters and herself.

As much as I would have liked to be with Merrill, knowing both Fenris and Maeve was with her helped immensely to sooth my nerves and sense of guilt. Sometimes whether it was intuition or just wisdom from surviving so long I just knew what was best and something was telling me to split us up at this juncture.

This left me with both Tallis, who I didn't trust at all, Tomuk who I wasn't sure about either way, other than he was probably pretty good in a fight and the three remaining Qunari.

Tomuk had told us the night before that between the two lairs there was a path right around a half of mile long. According to his maps, there was a small group of huge boulders and rocks about half way in-between the two lairs. Whichever group got through first would go there and hide until the other group caught up.

Because of the psychic link Merrill and I shared, we would know before leaving Athula's keep if the other was trapped or caught. If that happened the free group would try to rescue the other otherwise we would head for the rendezvous marker.

It was imperative to remember at this point that out goal wasn't to actually take Athula's keep but rather to just make it through as to get to Nesscius lair. It would be a waste of scarce time and our limited resources otherwise.

I was a bit perplexed when Tallis suggested that even if one of the groups got trapped the other should leave them behind as at least the free group could try to rescue Faealyn.

It was becoming obvious to me that Tallis was more interested in rescuing Faealyn for some other unknown reason than rescuing her for the sake of her to be reunited with Merrill and myself. There was something she wasn't telling us and it was becoming more evident as time went by.

However, Tomuk stepped in again and explained that it would take all of us to defeat Nesscius so leaving behind anyone would be foolhardy. Even then, he said it wasn't a sure thing that we could defeat her.

Tallis was not happy at this revelation as a brief flash of frustration on her face betrayed her normally otherwise cool demeanour.

What was she up to? I was really becoming confused and concerned as I was sure the Qunari with her were not hiding anything. Whatever she was doing she must be doing on her own.

It was decided that Merrill's group would take the side hidden entrance and my group would charge the main door. We hardly rated an army and barely an attack force but we did have some major firepower. Luckily, if we could make enough of a distraction in the front, Merrill's group should be able to flank the enemy force and together we could pass through.

I gave Merrill a long, strong hug and sincere, tender kiss for good luck and then our two groups parted. It was not lost on me though that Tallis was aggressively, starring at Merrill as we parted. I was getting a really bad feeling about Tallis.

As Merrill marched off out of sight I found myself watching her rear-end in admiration but suddenly I heard a voice in my head say, "Emma vhenan, not now!"

Blushing, I quickly suggested that our group make way for the main doors but before we could actually start moving Tomuk came up behind me and quietly said, "I can't really blame you." I spun around in full indignation mode but Tomuk had already started towards the keep doors, so I just laughed to myself and made a mental note to tell Merrill to be careful what she was thinking around Tomuk.

The trek to the keep's main entrance was short so it took us little time to march to it. I was pleasantly surprised when we didn't come across any resistance but when I examined the doors I knew why.

At first glance they appeared to be wooden but upon closer inspection it was clear they were actually stone with wooden coverings here and there. Being at least twenty feet high and fifty feet wide they were also much bigger than I had anticipated.

The Qunari tried pulling them open but to no avail. Then Tomuk took a long look at them and shook his head in frustration and looked at me and spoke.

"You have any ideas Mage?"

Thinking for a moment I said, "I might have something but it will take all of us for it to work."

Tallis then spoke up, "Well since no one seems to have any better idea what do you suggest?"

"I've been working on a new spell. It uses sound as a weapon..I know it sounds odd but most materials have a special vibration that if its exposed to it long enough the material will become unstable. However, these doors are really thick and even if I hit it as hard as I can my spell alone won't break the stone. When I give the word I will need everyone here to hit the door with your metal weapons as hard as you can."

"Sounds easy enough." Tallis said.

I was about to reply but Tomuk quickly cut in, "Yes it does but what she hasn't said yet is that she will have to keep attacking the door with this vibration while we try to smash it open. Which means of course we could very well end up being either partially or permanently deaf."

Tallis and the Qunari looked at me for confirmation and I nodded in agreement with Tomuk. He was one smart cookie.

"It has to be your guys decision. We can probably plug your ears with cloth which should help some." I said.

Tomuk spoke next, "We have little choice do we? Let's start it the longer we stand here the more dangerous it is."

Everyone nodded in agreedment.

After quickly making some rough ear plugs for everyone, I stood about twenty feet in front of the door. I then concentrated and focused for about two minutes and then raised Malcolm's Honour. I slowly found my mana and forced into one spot in my psyche and then tripped the spell and soon a tremendous sound wave erupted from my staff in a river of raw energy. Out of the corner of my eyes I could see the rest of my companions nearly fall over from the sudden wave of auditory power reaching even their protected ears.

I connected my consciousness with the river of sound and waited to hear the reverberation on the stone walls to cease, as I knew when it stopped the vibration would be in tune with the stone allowing us to break it down.

Suddenly, without warning, I found the right vibration and the instant I did I threw everything I had left at the doors in one huge burst while signalling the rest of the troops to do their part. However, before they even reached the stone doors, they eerily but quickly creaked open from the inside and that was when all hell broke loose.

From the other side of the doors a group of ten stone golems came marching towards us with such force upon the ground it seemed as if there was an earthquake.

The good news was my initial spell that was supposed to weaken the doors hit the first rank of the golems and four of them crumbled harmlessly to the ground. The bad news was, I had invested most of my free mana into my current casting and I was fairly helpless as the seven remaining golems approached me.

Not surprisingly, when one of them hurled a fairly large, granite stone at me that succeeded in hitting me squarely in the chest, it knocked me right onto my arse. For a moment I was actually worried that this might be the end for me but thankfully right before a huge fist of stone pulverised me into the ground, a pair of Qunari warriors came out of nowhere and quickly dispatched the fearsome golem while at the same time giving me a chance to get back to my feet.

I was about to search for a mana potion that would speed up my magic regeneration but abruptly I felt like I was brimming with mana, even more than I was generally accustomed. Someone had zapped me with mana regeneration spell so I looked around trying to find a Mage who could have done so. However before I could scan the area in earnest, Tomuk quickly shouted, "You're welcome! I will explain later."

This was quite a revelation as I knew Tomuk wasn't a Mage. I mentally made a note to indeed quiz him on this later. Well, I did say I thought he would be good in a fight didn't I?


	3. Update 29

After about thirty more minutes of fierce battling we wiped out the remaining golems. I have to admit watching Tomuk despatching them was inspiring.

As Tomuk battled, he utilised a mixture of extraordinarily deadly rogue skills, including a particularly graceful usage of two of the nastiest looking Elven blades I had ever seen as well as employing some type of innate Fae magic.

His curved blades, identical in shape, were cruelly jagged on one side and impossibility sharpened to a nearly incomprehensible thin edge on the other . They actually sliced through the stone golems like they were made of subtle flesh. I also noticed when they connected with their target they became aglow, one illuminated in a ruby hue and the other yellow. I couldn't actually tell what added effect the glowing magic had on its target other than being especially deadly. I made a mental note to ask him about that later.

Every now and again a quick burst of white magical energy would shoot from his eyes and strike his closest foe as well. Once struck by the potent blast, his target's demise usually came within seconds. It was both dreadful and elegant to behold.

To be fair, I should credit Tallis on her exceptional fighting skill as well. Although she didn't inflict as much damage per attack as either Tomuk or myself, she moved so quickly she mete out two attacks to our one. Between her speedy attacks, stealth abilities and mystical teleportation ability, she was nearly as deadly a foe as I had ever come across.

And to their credit the Qunari warriors also kicked arse. I don't think the golems actually ever had a chance to be honest. I only hoped Merrill's group was doing as well.

We didn't waste any time after defeating the golems and marched straight into the heart of the keep where we were met by an assortment of different Darkspawn and minor demons. I was genuinely but happily surprised not to come across any of the sinister demons that had attacked me months ago back home near the horse stables.

The interior of the keep appeared to be in much better shape than I would have expected given its underground location. It was very well furnished, well lit and showed very little sign of the normal decay and debauchery that one normally associates with these types of unholy locales.

Suddenly, I realized to my astonishment, that we were completely alone and free to explore as we wanted. Amazingly there was not a single creature to impede us from marching right through to the complex and out the back to the rendezvous marker as planned. However I slowly became aware of an sudden urge to find Merrill.

Looking at everyone I spoke "I'm sorry guys but I have to find Merrill and I am pretty sure she is still here."

But before I took a step forward Tallis spoke up.

"Have you got any sense they she or they are in trouble?"

Staring at her with a bit of untypical confusion I answered, "To be honest Tallis, I haven't any sense that she is in trouble per say but my gut is telling me I need to find her."

"Your gut? You want to risk all our lives on your gut? Why don't we just leave and if you do get a more serious sense she is in trouble we can come back? " She replied more so to everyone else than me.

Getting a bit more serious in tone, I confidently stepped in her direction, "Nobody asked you come Ben-Hassrath. You are free to leave anytime you like."

I made a special effort to emphasize the term "Ben-Hassrath". In Qunari culture the Ben-Hassrath are sort of like their religious or cultural thought police but have a special reputation for being especially brutal and unmerciful in their re-education tactics. As it happens, Tallis claims to be Ben-Hassrath.

Tallis, not one to be intimidated but clearly a bit uncomfortable with me so freely outing her to the other Qunari in the group, quickly but a little bit too disingenuously for me came back with, "Fine...you're the boss I suppose."

I was about to have a really uncomfortable conversation with her in my rely but Tomuk quickly cut in with, "Yes she is and don't forget it assassin."

Tallis, throwing her arms up in frustration but still in control, just walked away and pretended to be tending her gear.

As we moved towards where we thought our partner group should be, we did finally run into a few guards and low level Darkspawn but had little to no trouble dispatching them.

About twenty minutes into the keep something occurred to me. The side entrance was on the far west side of the structure and we were currently, as far as we could tell, in the far west wing but there was no signs of them or even other baddies. Something was really amiss and it was starting to make me nervous.

Looking at Tomuk I asked, "You get the feeling there is more to meets the eye to this place?"

Looking around and then scratching his chin, he said, "Now that you mention it, it does seem smaller in here than it appears from the outside."

One the Qunari warriors spoke up at this point, "I didn't want to say anything because I thought perhaps I was imagining it due to the nature of where we are but back in Par-Vallen I used to assist in construction of juggernauts. Correspondingly, I became very efficient at estimating volume of empty spaces and this interior is at least twice as small as it should be."

I looked at the hugely muscular Qunari warrior and asked "What is your name soldier?"

"Lucian", he quickly replied.

"Well Lucian, from now on you speak your mind whenever you feel the need. Agree?" I asked.

He nodded in agreement in such a way it hinted at just a wee bit of pride though most Qunari would claim they don't do things to be complimented but because it simply needs to be done.

Just to be on the safe side, I quickly cast a spell that would indicate if what we were observing was an illusion but everything indicated reality on all fronts. This meant that there was some other way into the missing space of the house which in all probability was some type of secret or hidden passage.

We explored a few of the western rooms and hallways and unfortunately didn't come up with anything substantial. Eventually we came to a room which I would best describe as a sitting lounge.

There was oversized, velvet chairs which some might describe as tasteful but they were way too over-the-top for my taste. There was glossy wooden side tables and beautiful thick, woollen rugs protecting the darkly polished wood floor from the furniture. The walls were adorned with opulent tapestries and exotic works of art from near and far. Athula must really have a high opinion of himself apparently.

But it didn't make sense. Athula was a demon, a more refined than you would think demon, but still a demon. I had a hard time thinking that he would actually want these types of things. They were just so... human. This whole situation smelt funny and made me ever more nervous.

Looking around in the room I noticed that everyone else seemed a bit uncomfortable as well. They were either fidgeting in place or nervously pacing or even in the case of Tallis mumbling to no one in particular.

Suddenly way, way deep down in the most private part of my psyche I became aware of Merrill's voice bouncing around. I motioned for everyone to be quiet but they all seemed to be ignoring me now as if I wasn't even there.

Immediately and almost impertinently I ordered everyone to quiet down but no one took notice. Quickly losing patience, I then shouted the order but still nobody acknowledged except for Tomuk who simply looked at me with abject confusion.

Moving as far away from everyone as I could, without actually letting them out of my sight, in effort to focus on what Merrill was trying to communicate I found myself standing in one of the far corners of the room.

Abruptly, a massive wave of fear crashed into me. Unbearably scared all I wanted to do was curl up and cry. I abruptly slid down the corner onto the floor and contorted myself into as small space as I could and as the tears rolled down my face I desperately tried to connect to Merrill. I needed to hear her voice more than I needed to breath. Becoming even more terrified I put my hands over my ears as everyone else began to yell and scream in abject fear. I had to find out a way to hear her!

Remembering a spell that I knew, but seldom used, that allowed me to envelope myself within a bubble of magical energy I began to find some hope. It wouldn't block out all the noise or fear but it would greatly help and if I was lucky, the energy might actually help me focus on our connection as well.

I triggered the spell and immediately felt a much needed relief as if the magic was coming between me and something else, almost like an ethereal force field.

I closed my eyes and took a slow, deep breath. I needed to slow my heart rate and relax. As I slowly let my breath out in small wisps I began to hear Merrill better.

"Ma sa'lath please, please listen to me."

I shook my head yes as if Merrill was actually next to me.

"You are in a trapped in a demon's spell! You have to break the spell! Focus on my voice before you are pulled in too far!"

I became covered in beads of perspiration due to fear and started to shake. Somehow Athula had pulled me back into one of his spells. I was falling deeper and deeper into a black abyss and Merrill's was becoming harder to feel again.

Instinctively I cast dispel magic and felt a bit of relief but just barely. Next I cast three consecutive mind blasts in a row, a feat that most Mages would say is impossible but I had worked with Merrill on a technique to store whole spells within my staff. Sort of like magical potions but entirely contained within a my staff.

The net effect between the three mind blasts and dispel magic was a huge weight lifted off my psyche. I could hear Merrill much better now but I was still felt like I was stuck in a mental black cloud.

Merrill was going on about focusing on her voice but now that I could hear better she was actually telling me to focus on us and our love. Somehow this was supposed to break Athula's hold on me.

So I took another deep breath and squeezed my eyes shut. I again slowly calmed my heart and tried to focus on Merrill. Memories started to flood my mind. Warm, wonderful, loving memories. Merrill's sweet, little face halfway up Mt. Sundermont on the day I first met her..her smile as she laughed at Aveline and Isabela's constant bickering... the sparkle in her eyes when I would come visit her when she still lived at that awful, little hovel in the Elven Alienage...the way she used to look at me to make sure I was paying attention to her when she would talk about her childhood amongst the Dallish...the way her cute nose would crinkle in disgust when Varric passed wind...the dear confused look on her perfect face when Isabela would make some odd sexual innuendo and the blush on her cheeks when she finally understood it ...the way she so innocently trembled in my arms the first time I ever kissed her...the way she clung to me all through the night later that very same evening when we made love...the wonderful way she squealed in joy when she found her betrothment ring hidden inside a rose on her breakfast try the first morning after she permanently moved in with me...the never faltering confidence she held in me the moments before our final battle with Meredith...how the sunlight gently splashed down over her and Faealyn that morning when I realized that she was not only my beautiful wife but the mother of our new daughter...and how she so lovingly and proudly looked up into my eyes when we exchanged our vows...

As the emotions flooding in, the weight that was pulling me into the abyss lightened and eventually dissipated. When I finally opened my eyes the room had changed from the decadent lounge into a dark, dank chamber that smelled of death and rot.

To my amazement, not only was my whole party in the small chamber, so was Merrill's party. Every single person was crouched up in a ball on the ground as a hideously slimy, black as night demon hovered over them sucking out their very life essence. Except for Merrill who had enveloped herself within a magical, crimson bubble.

However, maintaining the energy bubble was taking all of her power and foucs to keep the demon at bay so she was unable to retaliate against any of them. Which was why she was trying to connect with me.

There was still a demon hovering over me trying to attack but the emotional wall I had constructed was inhibiting his lethal power from hurting or touching me although black slime was had dripped all over me including my hair. It was going to take a month of baths to get it all out.

These particular demons must live on the fear of others or at least this was their most preferred attack method. Either way they were hideously ugly and smelt of rotting, dead fish on a hot day.

Immediately I jumped up and filled the room with chain after chain of lighting each forking out to all the individual demons. Within about a minute or so of this attack Merrill broke free and started attacking the demons as well. As it turns out, between Merrill's combined Dalish and blood magic and the inherent extra damage I inflict on demons and Darkspawn, the both of us combined are an extraordinarily horrific nightmare for their likes.

Soon Tomuk broke from his spell who then unleashed an ungodly burst of carnage on the demons. With the three of us free our psychic attackers were soon true and certainly destroyed.

Almost instinctively, when the last demon fell I ran to Merrill and not caring one bit who was looking , swept her up into my arms and hugged her about as tight as I ever had. She felt so perfect in my arms so right then and there I swore to never split us up in this type of situation again.

Once we cleared our heads and secured the location we worked out that Merrill's group walked right into a trap. Apparently, Athula assumed we would try sneaking into the side entrance and had originally placed all his forces guarding that entrance. But when my party had rushed the front gates it drew everyone but the black, slimy demons off of Merrill's group allowing her a chance to protect herself.

Two things I still couldn't figure out was that Athula himself still hadn't actually made an appearance and how in Andranste's granny panties did his illusion spell initially stand up to all of my dispelling and countering? I don't want to sound like I am bragging but even Corypheus , an original Tevinter magister who actually travelled to the Black City, couldn't do that to me. Magic apparently didn't work quiet the same here as on the surface or Athula is some type of godlike mage, which I doubted.

As it turns out, my doubts would soon be tested . While I was still pondering what had just happened a small but loud explosion rocked the chamber and knocked all of us to our knees. When the smoke had cleared, Athula himself was hovering in the middle of the room. I really have to be careful what I think sometimes!

With his face mostly hidden in his billowing thick, black cloak, only his glowing yellow eyes betrayed his facade. He was an intimidating figure to be sure.

He spoke in a creakingly, eerie rasp as if his throat wasn't designed for humanoid speech, "I've been waiting a long time for this..."

I was going to reply but Merrill spoke first, "Oh really? Next time why not just try approaching us face to face instead of hiding like the sick, pathetic coward you are."

I have to admit, I don't know what surprised me more, the fact that Merrill spoke so aggressively or the fact that the first shot from her staff knocked Athula half a foot into the opposite wall. Either way, I really liked this new side of my wife and by which I mean I REALLY, REALLY liked it.


End file.
